The Engagement Anticipation
by I.Am.Molly
Summary: This story follows Leonard as he makes a decision that will change his life completely, one way or another.
1. Chapter 1

Leonard giggled as he watched Penny whip Sheldons ass at Halo. The poor guy was determined to beat her at it at least once, but each time she agreed to play him, she beat him spectacularly. It always enraged Sheldon to lose to her, but his ego wouldn't let him quit and for the past seven or so years that Penny has been in their lives, he still hadn't beaten her once. Of course, Leonard had to admit that he had never beaten her either, but it didn't bother him as much as it did Sheldon. Leonard was just happy that he had found himself a woman who was happy to join him in his nerdy antics, as he was certain that very few women like her existed. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she had the heart and soul of a saint and although Leonard knew that she wasn't into all his geeky things like comic books, action figures and video games, well except Halo, he loved how she would always try to understand his obsessions and never judge or ridicule him for them.

Leonard loved how she would take the time, every now and again, to read one of his comic books, usually Thor, then sit down and discuss it with him, and ask him questions about the bits she didn't quite understand. There were days when she would go with him to the latest action packed superhero film and try her hardest not to fall asleep on his shoulder, obviously bored and confused, but determined to watch it because it was something he was interested in it. There were even times when she would come over on vintage video game night, and join in with him and the guys on whatever blast from the past they had decided on playing that night. Sheldon hated it of course, but that didn't matter because Leonard loved it, and it was him she was trying to make happy, not Sheldon.

Leonard knew he was the luckiest man alive to have found her. Not that he really found her, fate or destiny, maybe even God or some sort of angel, had brought her to him. For whatever reason, something placed her right across the hall from him, and he was eternally grateful to whoever or whatever it was that brought her there. It didn't make sense, he knew it didn't. He was a scientist; he based his ideas on facts and logic, built from hard evidence. He didn't believe in fate or destiny, or God or angels, yet he felt it must have been more than a coincidence that a gorgeous woman like her, who was open to all of these things that most women would have absolutely no interest in, had been placed in the adjacent apartment.

Penny was everything he ever could have asked for and more, a beautiful, kind, sweet and funny woman, albeit hot-headed and sometimes overly emotional and irrational, but he loved her flaws as much as everything else.

She loved him too. That was probably the part he was most dumbfounded at. He could almost fathom that a woman like her would move in across the hall and become friends with him and his gang of quirky but love-able nerds, but have her fall in love with him? That was definitely the work of fate, or destiny, or God or the angels.

The journey they had been on had not been as easy one, that was for certain. It had been full of ups and downs, not unlike a game of Snakes and Ladders. One minute they were happy, moving along the board of life, climbing up these ladders of unimaginable height, only to be torn down, back to the beginning by a menacing snake. Those snakes would come in the shape of, guitarist ex-boyfriends, a selfish washed up actor, a British student, and a pretty young assistant. Faces that would bring out the worst in their personalities and insecurities, but somehow they had managed to get past it all and found themselves become stronger with each roll of the dice.

They had been going strong now for just over two years. In that time, they had both matured immensely. Leonard managed to tone down his notorious habit of letting himself get too caught up in a moment and make stupid decisions. Such as when he proposed to her in the heat of love-making, or when he decided that he was moving into her apartment without asking her. He hadn't quite managed the same with his habit of overthinking everything, but it was something he was still working on.

Penny was really the one who had done the most maturing though. Ever since the moment when she finally told him she loved him, she had taken steps, albeit baby steps, that led her to where she was now. She had worked on her inability to talk about her feelings and had become much more open and honest with him. She had also managed to calm her temper so as to not cause huge fights with him over minor things, and he was so grateful for that because he genuinely hated fighting with her. She had come on quite a bit with her career too. She still wasn't a movie star, nor was she a tv star, but she was getting a lot more jobs playing the supporting roles in theatre productions and even a few commercials here and there. She was still in her history class too. He couldn't quite explain how proud he was when he found out she had passed her end of year exam with a very respectable C+ and had decided to take the next class up. She was still waitressing though, she wasn't making enough money from the theatre productions and commercials to quit, but it meant she didn't have to do quite as many hours. She was slowly edging her way out of there and he could see how happy she was because of it. She had finally found a huge sense of achievement in her life, and he was sure that right now, she was the happiest she had ever been in her lifetime.

They were living together now too. A couple of months after he had that fight with Sheldon and pretty much forced himself into her apartment, they had made the decision that they were ready. Not because it was logical, but because they wanted too. Penny told him how she had missed waking up with him every day and coming home to him in her apartment after work and she thought it would be a good idea to try it out and if it didn't quite work, they would live separately again until they were sure they were ready. It was like the beta test all over again, and once again the beta test proved successful. He forced himself to hide the glee that was inside of him the first time a letter addressed to Dr. Leonard Hoftstader appeared in her mail-box, _their _mailbox, but Penny could see the excitement in him, she always could. There were some arguments of course, about the items that he wanted to decorate the apartment with. Penny found it hard at first to accept that if they were going to live together, the apartment was no longer just hers and she had to let him have some of his personality shown in the décor too. In the end though, they compromised, like a mature couple would. Penny let him show off some of his collectables in the apartment, drawing the line when he said he wanted to hang a Game of Thrones Sword on the wall. He asked her to take down the huge picture of her and Amy because it was quite unnerving, but she was quite happy to do that, so it wasn't really a compromise. He also managed to get her to hide away some of her care bears that she had in her room, he was rather proud of that one. In the end, they managed to get to a point where they were both happy with how the apartment looked, and were even happier that they were getting to share it with one another.

That was just less than a year ago now, and he found himself yearning for just a little bit more. He had found himself, over the past few months, wondering what it would be like if she was his wife. It was something he had wanted from pretty much the day he had met her, but he knew he had to wait for her to be ready, and now, he was finally feeling like she could handle the commitment that marriage brought. She was finally at a point in her life where she was happy in her personal life, as well as her professional one. He was finally able to imagine the scene, him down on one knee in the best restaurant in town, with violins playing in the background, and roses decorating the table. He was finally able to picture himself asking her those four fateful words that could make him the happiest man in the world, or give his heart another stab of disappointment that he knew all too well. He could picture it now, and she would no longer say no, she would beam with happiness and say yes, then jump into his arms. It was a beautiful picture, but it was still only a dream. He needed the courage now to make that dream a reality.

"Leonard!" Penny shouted loudly.

Leonard was abruptly snapped out of his daydream by Penny, frowning in his direction and waving her hands. "Huh?"

Penny smiled that incredible smile of hers that made his insides leap. "I've been calling you for the past few minutes. What were you daydreaming about?" She asked as she put her controller away.

"Oh, nothing…. Where's Sheldon?" He asked as he noticed his spot was empty.

"I beat him and he went off to his room in a huff, the usual." Penny answered with a grin, then outstretched her arms and yawned. "It's getting late and I've got work in the morning, coming home to bed?"

Leonard smiled and agreed. They turned off everything in the apartment and headed off to their own one across the hall.

As soon as they entered their apartment, they headed to the bedroom, stripped off down to their underwear, and slipped into bed. Penny set her alarm for 7am and moaned as she did so. She hated getting up early, especially on the weekend when Leonard wasn't getting up with her, but she had agreed to do the breakfast shift at the cheesecake factory, so she only had herself to blame.

When she was done with her alarm, she turned around and cuddled up to him. Leonard still found himself grinning when she would snuggle in beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist and nuzzling her face into his neck. They done the same thing every night, but every time without fail, he would get the same butterflies he got the first time. The night, however, would not be complete until she would sit up and kiss him goodnight. And that was what she done, almost too passionately for the time of night, when they both knew she was up early tomorrow and sex was definitely off the table. She broke away from him, stroked her hand against his cheek and said the words he never tired of hearing. "I love you."

Leonard kissed her again before returning the words to her, "I love you too." Penny then reached up and lovingly took his glasses from his face and placed them on his table, then turned off the lights and resumed her position, face against his neck and arms wrapped around his body.

"Goodnight honey, see you in the morning." She said against his skin, as she drifted off to sleep. Leonard however, lay awake for a little longer. He stroked her arm as she fell into the deep abyss of sleep and that was when he decided she was as ready as him. She loved him, and even though he still couldn't quite understand how that had happened, it was the truth. And he once again pictured the scene, him down on one knee holding out a sparkling diamond ring to her and he saw her say yes. He was sure she would say yes, so he would do it. He was going to find the courage inside of him and he was going to ask this wonderful woman to marry him.

Leonard smiled despite the trickling of nerves that had already begun to show themselves, as they anticipated what he had just decided to do, and then he fell asleep and dreamt of the woman who was lying beside him.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard was awakened by the tune of Pennys alarm clock going off. He was lying on his back, with his right arm outstretched under Pennys neck. He felt her reach up and put her clock on snooze, before turning around and snuggling into him. Leonard smiled to himself when he felt her reach her hand up to his neck and play with his hair. A few minutes later, her alarm went off again and she growled as she turned to switch it off. Leonard kept his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep as he listened to her get ready for work. He heard her go into the bathroom and have a quick shower, brush her teeth and use the bathroom. She came back out and he heard her shuffling around the room as she got changed into her uniform. He couldn't help but take a few sneaky peeks at her, but he managed to fight the urge to just sit up and blatantly watch her. He didn't want her to know he was awake, for some reason he liked the fact that she didn't know he was up, or looking at her.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but after a while he felt her sit on the bed beside him and push his hair back, before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the lips. "Bye sweetie. Love you." She whispered to him as he pretended to be asleep.

Moments passed, but she still hadn't moved from the spot beside him. Leonard somehow managed to keep a straight face as he felt the burning of her eyes watching him. She then leaned down again and whispered into his ear. "Honey, I know you are awake and I'm not leaving until you say it back."

Leonard chuckled and opened one eye. "How did you know?"

Penny smiled, "I caught you looking at me when I was getting ready." She giggled, "Honestly Leonard the amount of times you have seen me naked, yet you still feel the need to peek." A grin spread over Leonards face and his cheeks reddened, as she kissed him on the lips. "Crap, I gotta go or else I'll be late." She said quickly when she spotted the clock.

"Aww." Leonard frowned and made his best puppy dog face. "Do you have to?"

"Don't make that face! You know I can't resist it!" Penny playfully hit him on the arm, and then kissed him again when he didn't change his expression. They continued to kiss for several minutes, neither of them wanting to break it. "You're going to… get me fired… you know?" She said in between kisses.

"Good." He said and kissed her again.

Penny giggled and pulled away. "I reeallly need to go now. I'll see you later okay?"

Leonard nodded and watched her as she got up off the bed, "Bye honey, love you too."

Penny turned around at the doorway and smiled sweetly at him, then blew him a kiss and off she went; his future wife-to-be, hopefully.

Leonard got out of bed about half an hour after she left. He could never sleep in anymore unless she was there beside him, the bed just felt cold and empty when she wasn't in it. He done all the usual stuff when he was up; had a shower, had breakfast, tidied up a little, and then sat down on the couch with his laptop. He had to start planning how and when he was going to do this, but he had no idea where to start. There were so many things to consider. He had to make sure he proposed in the perfect place and at the perfect time, he had to buy her the perfect ring and he had to figure out what he was going to say. Leonard stared at the google homepage on his laptop, willing it to tell him where to begin.

After a few long minutes of staring at the computer, Leonard finally gave up and decided he needed help. He really had no idea about where would be a good place to do this or what kind of ring to get. He needed advice on how to do this properly. He needed someone to help him find the perfect ring because he honestly had no idea where to even start looking. He thought hard through all his possibilities. Sheldon was a definite no-no. He would be absolutely no help with any of those things and was terrible at keeping any sort of secret. If he told him right now what he was planning, Penny would probably know by the time she got home from work. Leonard thought that either Bernadette or Amy would be the most help with picking out the perfect ring for her, and would probably have great ideas of ways he could propose that Penny would like, but he had heard that Bernadette wasn't great at lying and would probably be just as likely to give the game away as Sheldon. Amy would probably be the best bet, but he then remembered that she was the one who got Penny that God awful painting, and he didn't want to take the chance that her taste in jewellery was as bad as her taste in art.

The only ones left were Howard and Raj. Leonard squirmed at the thought at first, but then slowly it dawned on him that these two would probably be perfect for the job. Howard has already been through all of this and would probably know where best to start and Raj, well Raj was pretty much a woman in a man's body. He would probably be the perfect man to help him pick out a ring and give him advice on the best place and time to propose.

Leonard jumped up and grabbed his phone to call Howard, and arranged with him to meet at Rajs place as they couldn't talk here with Sheldon being across the hall. He was bound to come over at some point and quiz them about what they were doing and the one thing he wanted to make sure of was that this was a surprise. He didn't want her to have any idea what he was doing. He knew it would be hard because he had never kept a big secret like this from her, but he reasoned that it would be worth it in the end.

Roughly 20 minutes later Leonard arrived at Rajs place. Nerves crept throughout his body as he thought about telling the guys about his plan. He wondered how they would react, if they would be supportive or if they would tell him he was crazy or that it was too soon. Raj made him some tea, as it was still morning, and he anxiously sat on the couch and waited on Howard to turn up.

"So, what's going on?" Raj asked.

"I want to wait till Howard is here and then I'll tell you both together." He said with a nervous grin.

"Ohhh, exciting!" Raj said with a huge smile on his face that Leonard couldn't help but chuckle at.

Moments later, Howard entered the apartment. "Alright so, what is it that you so badly wanted to tell us?" He asked as he made his way over to sit on the couch beside him.

"Okay!" Leonard said jumping up from his seat. Raj came around and sat where Leonard had been, while Leonard stood in front of them. He spoke with so much excitement and enthusiasm, "So here's the deal… I'm going to ask Penny to marry me."

"You what!?" Howard said with shock written all over his face.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me." He answered, this time a little less enthusiastic.

"Yeah I heard you, I just needed a minute to process that… Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Leonards face dropped and he suddenly became quite worried.

"Oh, Howard, why do you have to be so negative?!" Raj said before Leonard had the chance to answer Howards question. "I think this is a great idea! When are you going to ask her?"

"Um, I don't know." He said to Raj and then looked at Howard. "Yeah, I'm sure Howard. Why, do you think I shouldn't?" He asked with a frown.

"No, it's not that, I just want to make sure that you realize what you are thinking of doing. Remember she said no to you once before."

"Yeah I know, but that wasn't a real proposal, plus we have grown up a lot since then. We are in a really good place now, I think we are both ready to do this." Leonard grinned uncontrollably, "Trust me Howard, I have thought this through. I am going to do this."

"This is awesome! I can't believe there is going to be another wedding!" Raj said with just as much, if not more, enthusiasm as Leonard.

"Okay Raj, don't get ahead of yourself here, I still have to ask her first."

"So, what do you need us for?" Howard asked.

"I need you to help me."

"Why us?"

"Because you have already done this before and Raj always has good ideas when it comes to all this romantic stuff, and everyone else is either horrible at keeping secrets or has very questionable taste. So… will you help me?"

Raj immediately got up, "Yes! Of course we will. Right Howard?"

Howard seemed to think it over for a few seconds. "Okay, I'll help you." He eventually said.

"Great! I really appreciate it!" Leonard said, "But you've got to remember, you can't tell _anyone_ about what I'm doing. I don't want Penny to find out."

"Are you telling me that I have to keep this secret from my wife?" Howard asked with a frown.

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"No," Howard said straightening his face. "I was just making sure I knew what you were asking of me. But you should know if she ever finds out, I will be blaming this all on you." Leonard smiled and nodded. "So what's first then?"

Leonard shrugged, "Um… I don't know."

"Well, have you asked her father yet?" Raj asked.

Leonard frowned, "Asked her father what?"

"For permission to marry her?!"

"Is that not a little old fashioned?" Leonard asked.

"Well you want to do this properly don't you? It's a mark of respect, Leonard. You are going to take his daughter from his family into yours. It's only right that you ask him first."

Leonard looked to Howard, "Did you ask Bernadette's dad for permission?"

Howard shook his head, "No, I would have, but I knew her dad didn't like me and didn't want to risk him saying no, so I just skipped over that part."

Leonard took a deep breath, "So you both think I should ask her dad first?"

They both nodded. "Her dad likes you anyway so he will probably be fine with it." Howard said.

"And he will like you even more if you ask him first." Raj added.

Leonard thought hard. They were probably right, if he was going to do this, he should do it right. The thought of asking her dad didn't scare him too much, he knew Wyatt liked him. Leonard was just having a hard time figuring out how he was going to ask him when he lived in Nebraska. It really wasn't the kind of conversation that should be had over the phone, but what would he say? 'Hey, is it ok if I marry your daughter?' Leonard grimaced at the thought. He was definitely not going to say that.

Leonard sighed loudly, "Okay, I'll ask him. But quick question, what do I do if he says no?"

Howard and Raj looked at each other, and then back at him. "Uh… Um…"

Leonard slumped down on the sofa, in between the two of them.

"He won't say no, dude." Raj eventually said as he placed a re-assuring hand on his shoulder and Howard agreed. Leonard nodded unconvincingly. "Oh, see now we have bummed you out!"

"No you haven't, it's just a lot to take in and think about… Her family is in Nebraska, how on earth am I going to ask him?"

"You could go out there?" Howard suggested.

Leonard thought for a second then shook his head. "I can't do that. What would I tell Penny? 'Hey, I'm just going away for a few days to talk to your dad.'" He said with a grimace.

"She could go with you." Raj answered.

Leonard shook his head, "She wouldn't be able to go. She's too busy rehearsing for her new play, as well as working in the cheesecake factory."

"Oh…" They all sat in silence again for a few minutes. "Oh I know!" Raj exclaimed. "Why don't you get her parents to come here? You could tell them about her play, I'm sure they would be happy to come here to see her perform, and it gives you a perfect time to ask her dad. You could even do it so that it was a surprise for her!"

Leonard thought through that idea, as a huge smile came to his face. "Raj, that's perfect! I knew you would be good at this!"

"Ah, It's what I do." Raj said nonchalantly.


	3. Chapter 3

"I really don't see why you need us to help you find this stupid address book!" Howard moaned, as he, Raj and Leonard entered Leonard and Penny's apartment. "Do you think I have nothing better to do on a Saturday than help you?!"

"Oh, because you have such a booming social life? We both know if you weren't here helping me you would be on your laptop playing World of Warcraft! " Leonard said as he threw his keys into the bowl.

"You are so wrong!" Howard exclaimed. Leonard and Raj turned around to look at him, "I was actually going to play Call of Duty on my xBox."

Leonard smiled and shook his head. "Right, okay we need to find this book before Penny gets home, so come on, get looking." He said as the guys headed in different directions to begin looking for the book.

Earlier on, Leonard had quickly realized after deciding to get Pennys parents to come and visit, that he didn't have a number to call them. He knew Penny would have the number in her phone, but he also knew it would be hard to look through it without her realizing he was up to something, considering she always had it on her. He remembered however, that she had a small address book that had various important phone numbers on it that she might need in case something happened and she lost the numbers on her mobile. The only trouble was that he had no idea where she had put it. He couldn't even remember seeing the thing since he had moved into the apartment.

"So what does this book look like?" Raj asked as rifled through the bookshelf.

"It's small, and pink." Leonard answered as he searched on, and under the coffee table.

After about ten minutes of looking, the three guys stood and looked around in confusion. "It could be anywhere Leonard! We are never going to find it!" Howard said looking a little fed up.

Leonard sighed as he looked around the apartment for inspiration. "The bedroom! It could be in the bedroom!" He exclaimed as he turned and walked towards the bedroom. When all three of them were in the room, Leonard turned to Howard and Raj. "Okay let's split this up. Raj, you look over that side of the room," He said as he pointed to the space directly in front of the door, which was 'Leonards side'. "Howard, you look at this side." Leonard pointed to the left side of the room which was 'Penny's side'. "And I will look in here." He said as he faced the wall which had a wardrobe and a chest of drawers.

Both men nodded and got to work looking around their allocated sides. "Wait a minute." Raj said, "Who is going to look in the bathroom?"

Leonard and Howard stopped what they were doing and frowned in Raj's direction. "Why would Penny keep her address book in the bathroom?" Howard asked.

"I don't know!" Raj said getting suddenly defensive, "Maybe in case someone tried to find it and she knew they would never look in the bathroom!"

"Raj it's not in the bathroom!" Leonard said.

"How will you know if you don't look?" Raj replied. Leonard huffed and was about to say something back to him when he spotted Howard about to go into Penny's bedside drawer.

"NO! Howard, get out of there!" Leonard shouted as he ran towards him and stopped him from going in the drawer.

Howard stood back, a little shocked. "But you told me to look at this side!"

"Yeah, but not in here." Leonard said as he stood in front of the drawer, looking a little flushed.

"Why not?" Howard asked with a smirk.

"Because…" Leonard struggled to come up with an answer. "It's not in here."

"Ohhhh what's in the drawer Leonard?" Raj said as he came around to their side of the room.

"I bet it's dirty stuff!" Howard said with a low growl. Leonards face became redder by the second.

"Do you have toys in there?" Raj added with a laugh.

"Does Penny like it kinky Leonard?" Howard continued.

"Okay can we please remember why we are here?!" Leonard said loudly as Howard and Raj laughed. "We have to find this book before Penny gets home!"

"Yeah we know! …I think we should check that drawer first!" Howard said, still grinning.

"Okay you two out of here." Leonard said as he ushered the giggling men out of his room.

"But I thought we were looking for the book!" Raj protested.

"No, I'll look in there, you two can stay out here and look." He said once they were back in the front room.

Raj and Howard continued to laugh at Leonard's expense as they once again began to search the apartment for Penny's book. Leonard sighed in relief that they were out of his room, and headed back in to continue his search.

A few minutes later, as Leonard was going through the chest of drawers, Howard and Raj appeared in the doorway. "I told you two to look out there!" Leonard said without turning his attention from the drawers."

"It's not out there Leonard, we may as well help you in here." Howard said.

Leonard huffed and glared at him over the top of his glasses. "Fine. You can look in the bathroom." Howard shuffled towards the en suite, grumbling as he walked. Raj continued to stand in the doorway, looking at Leonard, awaiting his orders. Leonard glanced around the room, looking for somewhere that he could tell him to look. "You check under the bed." He said. Raj groaned and began to walk towards the bed, in the same way as Howard had done. "NO WAIT!" Leonard said suddenly, and then thought in his head for a few seconds. Raj looked in confusion and Leonard eventually shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Carry on." He said as he waved for him to continue. Raj continued to frown in confusion at Leonard for a few seconds, before getting on his knees and looking under the bed.

"Oh, I found a box!" Raj said a few seconds later, as he pulled a shoe box out from under the bed.

"Give it here," Leonard quickly said as he held his hands out. Raj reluctantly handed over the box, as Howard re-entered the bedroom. Leonard sat the box on the bed and opened the lid as Howard and Raj stood at either side of him. The box was full to the brim with different kinds of memorabilia. Leonard smiled as he saw some pictures of Penny as a young girl, with various members of her family and friends. There were a few birthday cards and a couple of small teddy bears, one of which was holding a heart that had the words 'I Luv U' written on it.

"Ohh that is so cute!" Raj said as he took out the bear and held it up. "Who was this from?"

"No idea, I've never seen this before." Leonard said with a shrug.

"'To, Penny. Happy 14th Birthday, love from Darren.'" Howard said, reading out one of the cards.

"Aww that is adorable!" Raj said as he took the card from Howard. "Who's Darren?" He asked, looking at Leonard.

"I don't know. I'm going to guess it's one of her old boyfriends. Probably her first one if she was only 14." He said a little sadly. There was no reason to be sad really, he knew that Penny had had other boyfriends, and he couldn't fault her for keeping memories of what looked to be her first one, but even so, he couldn't quite help the slight twinge in his heart.

"Oh look!" Howard exclaimed, directing Leonard's attention back to the box. "I found it!" He said as he held up a small pink book. Suddenly all Leonard's thoughts of Penny and her first boyfriend were gone as he happily took the book from Howard.

"Great! Okay put all that stuff back where it was!" Leonard said as the guys put the bear and cards back into the shoebox, and they followed Leonard back out into the front room.

"So when are you going to call her parents?" Raj asked.

"Well Penny's play is in two weeks, so I should probably call them now." Leonard answered.

Howard and Raj nodded. "Yeah you probably should. Come on Raj, we should go and leave him to do this on his own, we have done our part."

"Okay, thanks guys. I really appreciate it, but your job isn't done yet, I will need you again." Leonard said as the two guys began to walk out of his apartment.

"We're not helping you again until you tell us what's in that drawer!" Howard shouted as Leonard shut the door behind them.

When the guys were gone, Leonard sat on the couch and flicked through the book. He quickly found the page that had, 'Mom and Dad – Home' written on it with a number written beneath it. He took a deep breath as he typed the number into his phone and stared at it for a few seconds before pressing the call button.

The conversation was fairly quick. He explained to Penny's father that she was going to be performing in a play in a few weeks and that he thought it might be a nice surprise for her if they came down to see it. Wyatt was extremely enthusiastic about the idea, and Leonard almost felt bad for taking all the credit for it, considering it was Rajs idea. Wyatt told him he would talk to Penny's mother about the idea and let him know as soon as possible what they were going to do, but Leonard got the feeling that it was pretty much already decided that they would come. He thanked Penny's father, gave him his number and told him he was looking forward to seeing him.

Leonard breathed a sigh of relief when the conversation was over, and noticed that his hands were a little shaky. He got up off the couch, putting the little address book in his pocket, and took a drink of water from the fridge. Just as Leonard began to calm down, the door opened and Penny walked in. "Hey." She said, sounding tired and fed up as she put her bag down and lay on the couch.

"Hey. How was work?" Leonard said as he sat down beside her on the couch.

"Ugh." Was all she could say.

"Oh that good huh?" He said with a smile.

Penny smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Right, I'm going to get out of this stinking uniform." She said as she got up and headed to the bedroom. Leonard smiled as he watched her walk, and then quickly remembered that the shoebox was still on the bed. Panic covered his face as he awaited Penny's reaction.

"Leonard!" Penny shouted from the bedroom. Leonard squirmed and headed into the bedroom.

"Yeah?" He said, trying to act as cool as possible.

Penny turned to him with a frown on her face, "What is this doing here?" She said, pointing to the box.

"Oh… Um… I found it under the bed." He answered. Penny continued to look at him in confusion. "I was looking for… um… my… comic book. And, uh… I came across that. I meant to put it back under the bed, but I forgot." Leonards heart beat furiously as he prayed that Penny believed his lie.

The frown disappeared from Pennys face as she looked down at the box. "I haven't seen this in ages..." She said quietly. Leonard smiled as he watched her slowly open the box and flick through the pictures in it. Leonard was relieved that Penny hadn't freaked out, she seemed to be too interested in what was in the box, to bother to question him further about why it was there.

"Can I see?" He asked as he held his hand out to take the pictures from her.

Penny looked up at him and smiled, "Sure you can, just don't laugh!" Leonard sat down on the bed and began to flick through the pictures, waiting patiently for her to tell him about the cards and the bear. He saw her, from the corner of his eye, take out one of the birthday cards and slowly read what was inside. She grinned and held a hand to her heart. "Aww. I can't believe I forgot about this."

Leonard looked away from the pictures and over at Penny. "What is it?" He said, pretending that he didn't already know.

Penny sat down beside him on the bed and held the card out in front of him so he could read it. "Darren was my first boyfriend. He was so sweet." Penny said slowly and quietly. Leonard looked intently at Penny as she reminisced. "We went out for about a year and a half, and then he moved away."

Leonard put a hand around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Can I ask why you kept this stuff?" Penny looked up at him and frowned. "I don't mean that in a bad way... I just mean… Well why this stuff? Did you keep the cards and gifts that your other boyfriends got you too?" Leonard asked softly.

Penny huffed and shook her head against his chest and for a second Leonard wondered if she was going to start arguing with him, but she didn't. "No. Darren was the only other boyfriend I have ever had that hasn't cheated on me, or hurt me in some way. I packed this stuff up when I moved here from Nebraska, as a kind of a way to remind me that not all guys are jerks. I used to take it out and go through all this stuff after I was dumped or broke up with whatever guy I was seeing and it would make me feel a bit better." Penny looked up at Leonard and gave him a kiss. "Luckily I found another good guy." She said with a smile, "I haven't had to look at this in a long time." Penny kissed him again and got up. She put the stuff back into the box and slid it back under her bed. "Right, I'm going for a shower." She announced as she headed into the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of the room, Leonard pulled the box back out and put the pink address book back inside, then headed back into the front room to relax on the couch. Suddenly his phone buzzed, and he saw an unknown number on his screen. He almost didn't answer, like he usually would if he didn't know who was calling, until he remembered that Penny's father was due to call him. He quickly answered and headed out into the hall to talk to him.

Wyatt told him that Penny's mother was thrilled by the idea and that they would be there on the Thursday before the play, which was showing on the Saturday. Leonard once again thanked her father and excitedly headed back into the apartment. He was met with Penny, who was looking at him in confusion. "Where were you?"

"Oh just in the hall. You wanna do something today?" He said as he walked over and put his arm around her waist.

"Like what?" She said as she put her arms around his neck.

Leonard kissed her, "Whatever you want."


	4. Chapter 4

The day that Penny's parents were due to arrive came quickly, Leonard could remember calling them like it was just yesterday. Somehow he had managed to keep himself from obsessing over what he would say to Penny's father when the day arrived, but only just. And now, with only hours before they arrived, he found himself pacing the apartment, panicking over what to say and how to say it. Wondering how he was going to get her father alone this weekend so he could have the talk without either Penny or her mother knowing what was going on. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was certain he would find a way, he had to.

"Hey, honey." Penny said as she entered the apartment, snapping Leonard out of his panicked state. She looked dishevelled and tired as she dropped her purse on the floor and collapsed onto the couch.

"Hey." Leonard said as he walked over to the couch, lifted her feet and placed them on top of him as he sat down. "How were rehearsals?"

Penny groaned into the pillow and turned around so her head was resting on the armrest. "Long and exhausting. We only have one more dress rehearsal which is tomorrow so everyone was kind of stressed out today, but we are pretty much ready now for Saturday." Penny smiled a little at Leonard, then put her nose in the air and sniffed. "What is that I can smell?"

"Ah ha!" Leonard grinned, got off the sofa and headed to the kitchen. "I made dinner."

Penny smiled and followed him to the kitchen. "You're kidding right?" Leonard shook his head. "When did you learn how to cook?" She said raising an eyebrow.

"I found a recipe for beef bourguignon on the internet, so I thought I would give it a try. Don't get too excited, it could end up tasting like feet." He said with a chuckle as he took out two plates from the cupboard.

Penny went over to the hob, lifted the lid from the big pot and smelled the food that was cooking inside. "Mmm, doesn't smell like feet, so that's a good sign!" She giggled, put the lid back on and turned around to face him. "I still don't get it though, why did you decide to suddenly go all Martha Stewart on me?"

"Very funny." He answered as he set the table. "I thought it would be nice for us to sit down and have dinner, then maybe watch a movie afterwards. We have barely seen each other these past few days with me working during the day and you at rehearsals in the evening." Leonard smiled at her and just managed to keep the rest of the reason he was going through so much trouble inside. It was true that she had been working a lot lately and he really did want to spend some quality time with her, but the whole night had been planned so that she would be awake for her parents arriving. She had been coming home from work and heading straight to bed after having a quick bite to eat, and he knew he couldn't let that happen tonight. So he decided the best way to keep her up, was to cook her dinner and watch a movie.

Penny smiled and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck as soon as she got close enough. "You are amazing you know that?" She said as she looked into his eyes.

Leonard grinned, "I wouldn't say that until we have tried the food, I could end up poisoning you, wouldn't be so amazing then would I?"

Penny laughed and kissed him on the lips. "Okay, I'm going to go for a quick shower first."

"Yeah I think that's a good idea." Leonard said as he scrunched his face up.

Penny giggled and hit him on the arm, "Shut up." She said and then headed into the room.

15 minutes later, Penny came back into the room, as Leonard was setting the food out on the table. "Just in time!" He said when he spotted her.

Penny beamed as she sat at the table, while Leonard poured them a glass of wine each and then sat down with her. They happily chatted and joked while they ate Leonards dinner, that they both agreed didn't taste like feet. He was actually quite proud he had managed to pull it off because he was sure it was going to be a disaster. At the end of their dinner, Leonard noticed that Penny kept on yawning, and her eyes seemed to be getting heavier. If it was any other night, he would have suggested they skip the movie and head to bed, but that wasn't an option tonight.

"So, what movie do you want to watch?" He said as perky as he could, in the hope that it would wake her up a little.

She yawned again, but he could see her try her hardest to hide it and match his perkiness. "Is it my turn to pick? I thought it was yours?" Leonard nodded and she grinned, obviously happy she didn't have to sit through one of his movies. She got up and headed over to the cupboard where the DVDs were kept and rummaged through them while Leonard went to the sink to wash the dishes.

A few minutes later, Penny skipped over to him at the kitchen sink, with a DVD in hand. "I picked one!" She said happily then put it down on the counter and began to dry off the dishes he had washed.

"What did you pick?" He said as he dried off his hands and picked up the DVD. Penny grinned when she saw his face fall. "P.S I Love You?" He whined. "Really?" Penny giggled and nodded her head. Suddenly Leonard was worried more about keeping himself awake than her. "We have watched this like 3 times already! Do we have to watch it again?"

"Oh come on 3 times is nothing! How many times have you seen Star Wars?"

"That's different!"

"How?"

"Because stuff actually happens in Star Wars. This is just some silly movie about a widow who gets letters!"

"letters from her dead Husband! It's romantic!" Penny said as she laughed at his despair and put away the dishes she had washed. "Quit being a baby and go put it on!"

Leonard huffed and headed over to the television. "The only reason you even want to watch this movie is because you like the British guy in it." He said as he put the DVD in the player and sat on the sofa.

Penny laughed as she headed over to the couch. "Actually, he's Irish." She said as she lay down, resting her head on Leonards lap.

"Oh, I see and that's better is it?" He said as he took the remote from the table and pressed play.

"Wayyy better!"

"Alright then." He said and then tried to use an Irish accent. "Suppose we better watch the movie then, eh darlin'!"

Penny frowned and turned her head to look up at him. "What the hell was that?"

"What?! I was using an Irish accent! Don't you like it?"

Penny shook her head. "I don't know what that was, but it was definitely _not_ an Irish accent! It was more like a cross between an Australian and a Russian one." She chuckled.

Leonard opened his mouth and pretended to be shocked. "Are you telling me you don't like my Rustralian accent?" He said using the same accent as before.

Penny laughed and shook her head. "Shh, the movie's starting." She said in a whisper.

"Ohhh I wonder what's going to happen." He whispered in a mocking tone. Penny giggled again and Leonard settled down and began to absentmindedly play with her hair as he tried to focus on the film.

About half and hour into the movie, Leonard received a text from Pennys father, telling him that they had just arrived at the hotel to drop off their bags and that they would be heading to their place soon. Leonard grinned widely as he began to get excited to see Pennys reaction to her parents visiting. Plus, he had been spending most of the time she was watching the movie making sure that she didn't fall asleep on his lap and he was glad that it would finally be over.

Before long, there was a knock at the door. Leonard's heart immediately began to pump with excitement, so much so that he almost jumped up and ran to the door.

"Who on earth is knocking on our door at this time?" Penny moaned as she looked at her phone and saw that it was just after half 9.

"I don't know… Why don't you go see?" Leonard said, trying his hardest to stay calm.

"Why me? Why don't you go?" She asked with a frown.

"I can't go… I am like sooo into this movie!" He said as seriously as he could.

Penny dropped her jaw as she sat up. "You're just being lazy." She said with a glare. "What if it's a murderer or a burglar, and you are sending me to go answer the door to them?!"

"Stop being dramatic." He said with a chuckle. "And think about it, if it was one of those things, who out of the two of us would be of more use?"

"Hmm." Penny said as she got up off the sofa. "I guess you're right. You would just scream like a little girl." She grinned at him then turned to look through the peephole. "OH MY GOD!" She screamed as she opened the door. Leonard chuckled as he got up off the sofa, turning the DVD off as he went.

"MOM, DAD!" Penny shouted as she ran out into the hall and hugged each one of them. "Leonard look!" She said as she excitedly headed back into the apartment.

Leonard laughed and held out his had to shake Wyatts as he entered the apartment. "Hello, Sir. Nice to see you again." Wyatt ignored Leonards hand and gave him a hug instead.

"Good to see ya Leonard! How you been?" Wyatt said with his slight country twang.

"Good thanks." He answered when Wyatt let go of him. Leonard then headed over to Pennys mother to greet her. "Hello, Ma'am." He said holding out his hand again.

"Sweetheart, what did I tell you the last time we met?" Pennys mother said and Leonard panicked a little as he searched his mind. "You save your 'Ma'am' for when I'm the Queen okay? Until then, you call me Hilary." She said with a smile that immediately calmed Leonards panic.

He smiled and nodded. "Sorry, Hilary. I forgot." He said shyly as she pulled him in for a hug.

Leonard had always liked Pennys parents. They were just the right mix of genuinely sweet and caring, with a hint of an 'I'll tell it like it is.' attitude. Most of that attitude came from her mother. She was blonde, like Penny, and was quite a curvy lady, but you could tell she didn't care. She was the type of woman that just didn't bother about what anyone thought about her. She was loud and at times obnoxious, and if she didn't like you, you would know it, but it was rare for her not to like someone. Despite her attitude, she was an incredibly likeable woman, who got along with most people. That likeability was definitely one of the things she passed down to Penny. She could be a complete bitch sometimes, but somehow everyone still loved her.

"Jesus you guys seem happier to see him than me!" Penny joked.

"Oh, don't you be getting jealous sweetheart!" Hilary said when she let go of Leonard.

"I'll go get some drinks in. Wine okay for everyone?" Leonard asked as he headed to the kitchen and everyone agreed.

"So, what are you doing here?" Penny asked excitedly as they all sat down, Penny and her mother on the sofa, and Wyatt on the chair.

"Well, a little bird told us that you were in a play this weekend." Wyatt began.

"And there was no way we were going to miss watching our baby girl on stage!" Hilary added. Penny beamed as she looked at each of her parents then furrowed her brow a little as she figured out who had told them to come.

"You told them?!" She said as she turned to Leonard in the kitchen.

Leonard just smiled and continued to pour the wine. Then he looked up and frowned. "No, I don't think you were listening, your dad said it was a little bird. Do I look like a bird?" Penny just smiled and stared at him. "Okay, it was me." He said smiling again as he took two glasses to give to Hilary and Wyatt.

"The real question is, why didn't _you_ tell us?" Hilary said to Penny. "We told you to tell us next time you were in a play so we could come and see you."

Penny returned her attention to her mother. "Oh, I know, but I just got so busy that I forgot to call and then when I did remember it was too late to expect you to come up." She then looked back at Leonard in awe. "When did you tell them to come? Did you know they were coming here today? How did you manage to hide this from me?!"

Leonard giggled as he handed Penny her drink and sat down beside her. "Calm down. I asked them about a week ago, yes I knew they were coming today and to be honest I have no idea how I managed to keep it a secret, I've been dying to tell you since the day I asked them." Penny smiled and shook her head in disbelief, then pulled him in for a kiss.

"Woah come on you two leave that for the bedroom!" Hilary said.

"Oh leave them alone and drink your wine!" Wyatt said with a grin.

Penny pulled away from Leonard, and began to chat away to her parents. They caught up with everything that had been happening back home in Nebraska and Penny told them all about her work and college. They had barely finished their first bottle of wine, when Pennys tiredness began to show again. Her voice began to croak, her eyes became heavy and she started to yawn. "Oh sweetheart, are you tired?" Hilary asked sweetly as she stroked Pennys hair. Penny rested her head against Leonards shoulder and slowly nodded, having her parents around had almost turned her into a little girl again. Pennys parents decided it was time that they went back to their hotel and slept to make sure they were refreshed for the next day. They agreed that they would come back over to the apartment tomorrow afternoon, after Penny had finished her last rehearsal.

This was Hilary's first time in California, and she was excited to hit the stores, so she and Penny agreed to go shopping, much to the disappointment of Leonard and Wyatt. However, Leonard quickly realized the reason that he had invited them here in the first place and realized this was the perfect moment to arrange to do something with Wyatt where it would be just the two of them. But before Leonard had the chance to speak up and arrange something, Wyatt spoke first. "Well, looks like it's just us two, son. Unless you wanna go shopping with the girls?" Leonard laughed and shook his head. "Good. I was thinking we could head down to the Dodgers stadium, see if we can't pick ourselves up some tickets for the game?"

Leonard tried his hardest to hide his confusion and nodded. "Yeah… That sounds great."

Wyatt smiled "Alright! It's a date!" He laughed. "Now come on Hilary, think it's about time we left, Penny looks like she's about to fall asleep here." And with that, Hilary and Wyatt said their good-byes and left.

Leonard already felt much more confident about the talk he had to have with Wyatt. Seeing Pennys parents again reminded him of how much they already treated him like family. Wyatt even called him son, it was something he hadn't paid much attention to before, but suddenly now, as he was about to ask permission to join their two families together, it stuck out in his mind. It told him he had already accepted him as a son, whether he was married to Penny or not, and knowing that was a big relief.

Penny headed straight to bed when her parents left, while Leonard stayed up to put away their wine glasses. He ran through in his mind a few times what he thought he might say to Wyatt, but everything he thought up he dismissed as not being good enough. He decided to stop thinking about it just now because he wasn't getting anywhere, and decided to focus instead on what the 'dodgers' were. Wyatt had said he wanted to take him to see them play, but he had no idea what they played. Football? Basketball? Baseball? Soccer? There were so many options and he had no idea which one it was. He was about to go on his iPhone and look it up, when he heard Penny shout on him from the bedroom. He frowned at first, because he thought she was sleeping, and then he put his phone back in his pocket, and headed into the bedroom.

"I thought you were sleeping?" He said to Penny, who was curled up beneath the covers in bed.

"Not yet." She grumbled. "Come here." She said as she patted the space beside her.

Leonard smiled, turned the lights off in the apartment, and then stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt before slipping into bed beside her. She instantly wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his neck. "Thank you." She said quietly and reached up to kiss him.

"What for?" He asked confused.

"For making me dinner today," She said as she made patterns on his t-shirt. "For watching the movie with me, well part of it anyway, for bringing my Mom and Dad here, and for being so freaking amazing."

Leonard let out a little laugh, and then gave her a kiss on her head. "You're welcome." He whispered. "Penny can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Who are the dodgers?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask me that," She laughed. "They're a baseball team, sweetie."


	5. Chapter 5

Leonard sat, cross legged on the sofa, with his laptop sitting on top of him. He stared at the screen intently, taking in all the information that Wikipedia had to give about baseball. He didn't want to seem completely out of place at the game, so he thought it was probably best to get an idea of how it was played. It didn't really help much though; he spent most of the time reading up about the history and statistics of the game, because that was more interesting to him than the actual game.

Eventually he took his glasses off, put his head in his hands and sighed. He had been reading for about an hour now and was still nowhere near understanding what went on in this game other than; one person from one team throws the ball, a person from the other team hits it with a bat, then runs around in a circle. He knew there was more to it than that, but that was as far as he could understand. The fact that today was the day he was going to tell Wyatt he was going to propose to Penny, didn't help much with concentrating on the rules of the game either. His mind was racing with all the different things he had to remember and all the things he had to say but had no idea how.

Leonard jumped in his skin as the door swung open, and Penny bounced in. "Hey sweetie!" She joyfully exclaimed.

"Hey." He said as he put his glasses back on and focused his mind back on the screen.

Penny furrowed her brow, a little confused that he wasn't as enthusiastic about seeing her as he usually was. "What's up with you?" She asked as she headed over to the fridge to get a bottle of water then sat down beside him on the sofa. Leonard hadn't turned away from the laptop screen. "Aww, honey." She cooed when she noticed what he was looking at. "Are you a little nervous for your date with my dad?" She giggled.

Leonard couldn't help but smile; she didn't even know the half of it. "I'm not nervous. I'm just trying to figure out Baseball so I don't look like a complete idiot at this game."

Penny turned his head to face hers and gave him a sympathetic look. Leonard held his breath as she looked deeply into his eyes. "Relax honey. My dad knows you aren't good with all this stuff, that's why he wants to take you to the game; to teach you about it."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief. "Did he tell you that?"

Penny smiled and shook her head. "He didn't have to." She said with a shrug, "I know what he's like. He pretty much already treats you like the son he never had, even though he already has a son! So he's going to take you to ball games and teach you all about sports." Penny grinned at his still obviously confused expression, and took a hold of his hand. "You should expect to be taken to other sports games too. As well as fishing and shooting, and I'm pretty sure he will get you out on the farm next time we visit them at home too." She giggled then kissed him gently on the lips. "So stop worrying so much." She said quietly when they broke apart.

They held one another's gaze for what felt like hours. Leonard constantly surprised himself at how easily he could become lost in her eyes. She mesmerized him to the point where he couldn't find a way out, no words would come to his mouth and he would just pass the minutes, staring into her sparkling green eyes. It was pathetic really, he had known her for over seven years and had looked into those eyes more times than he could count, so he knew he should be able to handle himself better around her by now. But he couldn't, if anything, he got worse at it. The deeper he fell for her, the more mesmerizing she became. Leonard inhaled sharply when he felt her brush her hand against the back of his neck and gently run her fingers through his hair. He hadn't even noticed her move, so the touch surprised him, but he still didn't take his eyes off of her.

Leonard was just about to close the small gap between them and kiss her, when their door rattled. "Talk about bad timing." Penny growled, which made Leonard chuckle softly. She kissed him quickly and sat back in the sofa, before shouting, "Come in!" to her parents outside the door.

Leonard closed his laptop down and put it to the side when Wyatt and Hilary walked into the apartment. Hilary had her long blonde hair tied up in a loose bun, a loose flowery dress on and a pair of oversized sunglasses. She was obviously making the most of the warm Californian weather that she wasn't quite used to. Wyatt was looking every inch the Baseball fan, with an LA Dodgers team jersey and cap on.

"Oh my God, look at you two!" Penny giggled.

"Do you like my glasses?" Hilary asked as she slid them down her face and posed. "I got them earlier today. I was told they are what all the big movie stars around here wear!"

"They're a bit big Mom." Penny replied sceptically.

Hilary shrugged and waved off Penny's doubts. "There's no such thing as too big!" She said with a hint of a smirk that suggested she was no longer talking about the sunglasses.

"Mom, ew!" Penny said as she giggled and grimaced at the same time.

"Oh come on! We are all adults here!" Hilary laughed.

Penny just looked at her mother, a little disgusted before changing the subject. "I can't believe you already went shopping without me!"

"Well, you were rehearsing and I needed sunglasses." She shrugged, "And your Dad insisted on getting the baseball shirt and cap for the game."

Wyatt then stepped forward, showing off his new stuff. "We got one for you too, Leonard."

Leonard looked on in confusion. "You got one of what for me?"

Wyatt grinned and pulled out an LA Dodgers team jersey and held it up. He then turned it around to show off the back that had 'HOFTSTADER' written on the back with the number 17 under it. "We didn't know what number to put so we just picked 17 randomly and we weren't quite sure how to spell your surname, did we get it right?"

Leonard laughed, stood up and walked over to Wyatt, taking the shirt from him. "Yeah you got it right!" He was more excited about it than he thought he would be, glad that even if he didn't know what was going on in the game, he at least looked the part. "This is so cool, thank you!"

"You're welcome son. I thought you might fit in a bit better at the game wearing a team shirt than a hoodie and a t-shirt with some superhero logo on it!" He laughed as Leonard blushed, feeling a little embarrassed. "Got you a hat too!" He added, pulling a hat out the bag and putting it on Leonards head.

Leonard chuckled and immediately took his hoodie off and put on his new jersey. "Oh, it's a little big." Wyatt said when he noticed the bottom of the shirt hang down and the sleeves go further down his arm than they were supposed to.

"Yeah…" Leonard said looking down at his shirt. "It doesn't matter! I love it!" He added with a grin.

"Aww you look so cute!" Penny giggled. "Like a little jock with glasses!" She said tilting her head and scrunching up her nose.

"Right come on you!" Hilary said patting Penny on the arm. "It's time for us to go make a dent in your Dads credit card!"

Pennys face lit up and she jumped off the couch. "Coming!" She grabbed her purse and hugged Wyatt. "Bye dad, thanks for all the stuff you are about to buy me!"

Wyatt smiled, "Bye sweetie. Now don't you two go too crazy, I still got bills to pay when we get home!"

Penny smiled sweetly at her father, "Ok Daddy, promise we won't!" She giggled then walked over to Leonard, put a hand to his cheek and kissed him, "Bye baby, have fun at the game!"

"Bye." He said with a grin as he watched her bounce back out of the apartment, much in the same way she had bounced into it. Leonard then looked around and it hit him that he was now alone with Wyatt. Nerves suddenly hit him as he realized he probably won't get a chance like this again, and he should use this moment to talk to him about Penny. It was the perfect time; Penny and her mother were gone and wouldn't be coming back for a long time, so there was no chance of them walking in on the conversation. And it was just the two of them, if he waited until later, he would be surrounded by people at a baseball game, and he knew that was probably not the most appropriate moment to ask permission to marry his daughter.

"Alright then, should we get going?" Wyatt said, interrupting the silence.

"Um…" Leonard hesitated. "Actually Wyatt, there's um…" He stuttered as he took his hat off and began to fidget with it. "There's uh… Something I need to talk to you about."

Wyatt frowned, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah! No, everything's fine," He took a deep breath as his mind raced through everything he should and shouldn't say. "Maybe you should sit down for this." He said to Wyatt who was standing a few feet from him, behind the couch.

"This doesn't sound good." He said with a sigh as he sat on the sofa. "Come on now, make this quick, the game starts at 2 and it's already half 12. I don't wanna miss it."

Leonard looked at him and nodded as he continued to play with the cap in his hand and pace the ground in front of him. "Okay. Um… I don't really know how to say this… I've never done this before."

"Leonard would you stop pacing up and down, you're making me nervous… And a little dizzy."

"Right… Yeah… Okay… Sorry." He mumbled as he sat down on the coffee table. He then took a few more seconds to organise his thoughts and calm his thumping heart. Eventually he looked up at Wyatt, who was looking at him with a look of utter confusion and worry. "Wyatt… I, uh… You probably already know this… But your daughter is an amazing woman. I'm kind of crazy about her." Leonard said softly, smiling as he said the last few words.

"Yeah, I know, I can tell." Wyatt said with a hint of a grin but with bemusement still dripping from his features.

Leonard looked back down to the floor. "I love her, and the crazy thing is she loves me too." He closed his eyes and sighed, "I want to spend the rest of my life with her… Wyatt…" He looked back up from the floor to the man sitting across from him. "I want, with your blessing of course, to ask Penny to marry me."

Wyatt sat back in the sofa, stunned by what Leonard had just told him. Leonard immediately began to panic at the silence. He had expected him to either be extremely happy, or extremely angry. He hadn't expected this, silence. It was unnerving, he had no idea what he was thinking or what the next words out of his mouth would be. "You're sure?"

Leonard frowned, a little insulted that every time he had told someone he was going to propose, they replied with 'Are you sure?' He shrugged it off and nodded. "I'm sure."

Wyatt crossed his arms and stared at Leonard. Leonard didn't know what else to do but stare back. "Let me tell you something Leonard." Wyatt said sitting forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Marriage isn't something you just decide to do all of a sudden. I know a lot of you young ones these days think getting married is the best and easiest thing in the world, and that if it goes wrong you can just get a divorce and everything will be back to normal." Wyatt didn't break eye contact with Leonard as he spoke, and it was quite terrifying. "But let me tell you, it's hard. Trust me, you get a few months of happiness after the wedding, but after that, it gets hard. Very hard, and I need to know that you are in it for the long haul, because I only intend on giving my girl away once. So I'll ask you again… Are you sure?"

"Yes." Leonard smiled. There was no hesitation at all. He knew Wyatt was trying to get through to him the importance of marriage, but he really didn't have to. Leonard knew he wanted to marry Penny and be with her forever, and he knew that if she did agree to marry him, there was no way he was ever going to divorce her. "Wyatt, I've never been surer of anything in my life. Penny is the best thing to ever happen to me. Trust me, it has taken so much of my energy to wait this long to propose to her properly. If I'm honest I probably would have done it the second I met her if I knew there was even a slight chance she might say have said yes. I know it's going to be hard sometimes, but I think we are good together. I think we can do this."

"Okay then." Wyatt said a few seconds later, and stood up. He put a hand on Leonards shoulder and smiled. "You have my blessing."

Leonard immediately jumped up from the coffee table, "What?! Really?"

Wyatt giggled, "Yes. Leonard you are a great guy and I can see how happy you make my little girl. I would be happy to have you as a son-in-law. BUT," Wyatt suddenly became very serious again. "If you do anything, and I mean anything at all, that will hurt her, you will regret it."

Leonard gulped. "I won't hurt her." He said quietly.

"Good!" Wyatt grinned and pulled him in for a quick hug. "Now, put your hat back on and let's go, I don't want to miss this game!"


	6. Chapter 6

Later that day, as the sun was slowly setting on Pasadena, Leonard and Wyatt headed back to the apartment. They had spent almost the whole day either watching or playing baseball, which Leonard enjoyed more than he thought he would. It was a completely new experience for him, not only because he was getting involved in baseball, something of which he had never been interested in, but because he was finally getting the feeling of what it would have been like for him as a child if his own father had treated him like Wyatt did. As a child, Leonard had very little father-son bonding time, and any time he did spend bonding with his father, was built around academia. He never took him out as a child to play catch, or sit down with him in front of a television and teach him about sports. He never took him fishing, or camping. He never taught him how to fix anything, or give him even the slightest idea of how to get a girlfriend. His father never taught him anything that a father was supposed to teach his son, and Leonard had always worried that because of that, he would never be able to teach any son he had those kinds of things, but Wyatt was a different man to his own father. He enjoyed doing all those things and now, thanks to him, there was at least one sport that Leonard understood and could teach to his own son one day.

It hadn't been easy, it had taken Wyatt most of the match to explain to Leonard the rules and regulations of the game, but eventually he caught on and was pretty confident that he understood what was going on. He was so confident in fact, that when Wyatt suggested they go to the park and play a game, he was very enthusiastic about it. They went to the store and bought a catcher's mitt and a bat and ball, and they headed down to the park. At first, there weren't many people around, so Wyatt just threw the ball to Leonard and he tried to hit it, but it didn't go well. He spent most of the time swinging the bat but hitting nothing, so they switched places, but that didn't go very well either. It turned out Leonard was as bad at throwing the ball as he was at hitting it.

Wyatt persisted however, telling Leonard that everyone finds it hard at first, and reassuring him that he would get it in the end. Leonard was surprised at how patient he was being with him, but concluded that it was probably because he had three children, and had most likely done this with each of them. Leonard remembered how Penny always told him that her dad had wanted her to be a boy, and had spent most of her childhood doing all the things with her that Leonard had never gotten to do as a child. He wondered if it had taken Penny this long to get the hang of playing baseball, but presumed that it hadn't, and even if it had, it was still pretty embarrassing considering she would have been a child and he was a grown man that could barely throw a ball and certainly couldn't hit one.

Eventually though, after a good hour or so practising, he got the hang of throwing the ball at the correct speed and height needed to allow it to reach whoever was batting. A few children, probably around the age of ten, came over and began to play with them, as did a few of the male parents that were around. It didn't take long for Leonard and Wyatt's small game to turn into one that took up most of the park as more and more people joined in. Leonard surprisingly found the game a lot more exciting when it was being played rather than watched and he wondered if he would come to the same conclusion with other sports. He even found himself getting quite competitive, which was unusual, and had even found that he was actually fairly good at catching the ball. He knew he must of looked quite amusing as he spent most of the game out field, running around with his big mitt in the air, his geeky glasses and his green lantern t-shirt on, since he had taken off his new jersey in order to keep it clean, despite Wyatt's protests that it was supposed to get dirty.

It was probably the most exercise Leonard had had in a long time, and he was exhausted, but he kept on going, running around the park trying to catch the ball. There was something about being out in the fresh air, competing and working as a team with other people that he actually quite enjoyed, but then again, maybe his happiness had less to do with the fact he was outside socialising, and more to do with the fact that earlier on that day, Wyatt had pretty much welcomed him into the family.

It had been a huge weight off of Leonard's shoulders when Wyatt told him he had his blessing to marry Penny, and ever since that moment he had felt like he was soaring with happiness. It made him wonder how he would feel if Penny actually said yes to him when he proposed, because if he feels like he is flying now, god only knows what heights the acceptance would send him to. He had to stop himself from thinking things like that though. Leonard knew he was one to overthink and get too carried away, and he had promised himself that he was going to do this thing one step at a time and he still had a good bit to do before he got down on one knee, so he couldn't get too carried away yet.

Leonard and Wyatt had continued to play for a couple of hours, until everyone became tired and hungry and headed home. They quickly got a bite to eat at a snack bar before they made their way back to Leonard and Pennys apartment. They chatted casually about what a great game it had been and about how much fun it had been playing in the park as they made their way up the stairs, carrying all their baseball gear with them. Leonard was pretty exhausted, and his face was flushed with the sun exposure that it rarely saw, although Wyatt didn't seem any different. Leonard's body ached as he climbed the stairs, because he had been using muscles he was not used to using in his everyday life. He was dirty, and his face had splashes of mud and sweat, as did his jeans and t-shirt, although his muddy t-shirt was covered up by his clean baseball jersey. But even although he was tired, sunburned and aching all over, Leonard felt happy, content and accepted, feelings that he barely knew before Penny came into his life.

They eventually reached the fourth floor and as Leonard was about to unlock the door and head in, he stopped. He turned around to face Wyatt as he felt the need to thank him for the great day they had had. "Wyatt, thank you." He said almost shyly. "I had a lot of fun today." Wyatt just stood and nodded. "And about what I told you earlier… I would really appreciate it if it was kept between the two of us, I don't want too many people knowing."

Wyatt grinned and patted him on the back. "Don't worry Leonard, I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. Just you make sure to let me know as soon as she says yes!"

Leonard beamed, "Of course, sir… And if she says no I'll just give you a text." He laughed, before opening the door and heading into the apartment.

The girls were sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine in hand, and there were shopping bags scattered all around the apartment.

"Hey boys!" Hilary said with such cheeriness that Leonard was sure she hadn't just had one glass of wine that day.

Penny turned around as she had her back to the door, and smiled at them, before looking Leonard up and down and scrunching up her face. "Dad?" She asked, tilting her head. "Who is this guy you have just brought into my apartment and what did you do with my boyfriend?" Leonard looked at her, a little confused as he took off his catcher's mitt and put his bat on the floor, while Hilary and Wyatt laughed.

"Oh this is your boyfriend alright." He said with a grin. "We went to play baseball in the park and he was pretty good too… Well, he could just about catch and throw the ball, just don't give him a bat and expect him to hit anything!" Wyatt laughed, and then as he looked around the apartment, his laugh disappeared. "Did you two leave any money at all in my bank account?!"

Penny and Hilary giggled, the effects of the wine showing. "We did!" Hilary exclaimed. "And now, you are going to take me out for a lovely dinner!"

"I am?" Wyatt asked.

Hilary nodded and grabbed her shopping bags. "You are!" She stood up and gave Wyatt her bags, and then turned and gave Penny a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, sweetheart. I had fun today, see you tomorrow at your play!" Hilary squealed with excitement and so did Penny. "Bye Leonard." She gave Leonard a quick kiss on the cheek, "Oh sweetie, I think you need a shower!" She said playfully, before taking Wyatt's arm and heading out the apartment.

"Bye!" Wyatt shouted as he left.

"So…" Penny said as she stood up from the couch, walked towards Leonard and raised an eyebrow. "You play baseball now?"

Leonard grinned as Penny played with the collar of his jersey. "That's right."

"You do realize that your face is almost the colour of my red wine?"

"It's not that bad is it?" He said with a frown.

Penny giggled. "Let's just say, I will definitely be able to spot you in the crowd tomorrow!"

Leonard smiled back and pulled her closer. He felt like he had barely seen her that day, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her close to him. He had overcome a huge hurdle today, one that had been quietly eating at him for the past few days, and he knew he hadn't been quite himself. But it was done now and he finally felt, for the first time in a couple of weeks, that he could relax.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She said as she pulled away excitedly. "I got you something today, although I'm not sure if you will like it now that you have gone all jock on me!"

She went over to her bags and began rummaging through them, "I really am being spoilt these days huh? First your dad buys me stuff now you! We gotta get your parents to visit more often!" Leonard chuckled.

"Okay! Close your eyes!" She said as she jumped up and held something behind her back. Leonard done as he was told and after a few seconds she excitedly said, "Alright open them!"

He opened his eyes and Penny was holding up a t-shirt, it was black with the figure of superman, standing in his classic pose with his hands on his hips, but his face was cut off at the neck of the t-shirt. "How cool is this! When you wear it, it will look like you are superman! Do you like it?" Penny said with so much enthusiasm that Leonard decided she had definitely had more than just one glass of wine.

Leonard laughed as he took the t-shirt from her hands. "I love it!" He said as he held it up to his body.

Penny grinned and bit her lip as she took the t-shirt from him again, placed it on the sofa and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leonard held her by her lower back and kissed her, tenderly at first but within a few minutes their passion for one another overtook their bodies. He held her tightly against him as she ran her hands through his hair and down his back. Shivers ran throughout his body, washing over all his aches and pains from the day and removing every inch of exhaustion he had felt.

Penny moved her hands to his chest and began to unbutton his jersey as she pulled him toward the bedroom, and with a grin and one eyebrow raised she said "Let's get you in the shower and clean you up."


	7. Chapter 7

It was Monday afternoon and Leonard, Howard and Raj were sitting in the University cafeteria as Leonard told them all about his weekend with Pennys parents, choosing the moment when Sheldon went off to have his twenty minutes of peace, so he could talk to them freely. He told them all about how he had spoken to Wyatt about proposing to Penny and what his reaction was and then he told them about Penny's play and how fantastic she was in it. But the only thing they wanted to focus on was the fact that Leonard had not only gone to a game of baseball, but had played the game too.

"I still can't picture you in the park playing baseball. I think you are lying to us dude." Raj said to Leonard as he picked at his food.

"Yeah there's no way you managed to actually catch a moving ball!" Howard mocked.

"I did! Look at my face! I'm still a little burnt from being outside for so long!" Leonard protested.

Raj shook his head, "Hmm, I dunno, I still can't picture it. I mean _you_? In a baseball shirt?!"

"What about me in a baseball shirt?" Leonard asked, becoming quite defensive.

Raj sighed, "It's just hard to picture you in anything but a t-shirt, hoodie and jacket!"

"Oh yeah, because you are the epitome of style and _never_ wear the same thing twice!"

"Excuse me, but I think you will find tha-"

"Alright guys, calm down." Howard said, interrupting their dispute before it got worse.

Both guys stopped their bickering and went back to finishing their food. "Maybe you should wear it into work one day, I'll believe you then." Raj said quietly.

Leonard smiled at the stubbornness of his friend, "No, I will wear it when I play baseball again."

"So, _never_ then?" Raj answered as Howard huffed at his failed attempt to get the two of them to stop their childish squabbling.

Leonard rolled his eyes and stopped himself from continuing the stupid argument. The truth was Leonard would of happily worn the shirt into work one day, but Penny had pretty much stolen it from him, deciding it was better used as something to wear to bed than for playing baseball, and Leonard knew there was no way he was going to take it from her. He got such a thrill from seeing her walking around the apartment in his jersey that was just long enough to cover her body, but short enough to show off her gorgeous, long, silky legs. However, the real thrill came from seeing her in a shirt with the name 'Hofstadter' emblazoned across the back. Every time he saw her walk, with her flowing blonde hair slightly covering the name, he felt a rush of excitement that he couldn't quite place. It was like she was proudly telling the world that she was his, even though the only person that saw her in it was him. He had thought about mentioning it to her, jokingly telling her that she couldn't wear it because she wasn't a 'Hofstadter' and she should give it back, but he was slightly afraid of the response. She could freeze up at the idea like she had done in the past, even if it was just a joke, and if she didn't freak out, Leonard wasn't sure that he would be able to contain his excitement and stop himself from proposing to her then and there. So he kept his mouth shut and just enjoyed the thrill it gave him.

Leonard shook his head and cleared his throat to rid his mind of the pictures of Penny in his shirt before he got too excited and focused back on the conversation at hand. "So, anyway, back to business. We've gotta go ring shopping."

"No, you've got to go ring shopping. We haven't got to do anything!" Howard said.

"Oh come on guys, you said you would help!" Leonard moaned.

Howard huffed and Raj hit him on the arm. "This is the good part Howard!" He said to him, receiving a glare from an annoyed Howard. Raj ignored his disapproving looks and turned to Leonard. "Do you have any idea what kind of ring you want to get her?"

Leonard frowned and answered with what he thought was a pretty obvious response. "Um… An engagement one?"

"Oh my God!" Raj moaned as he rolled his eyes. "You really are hopeless! Let's see now… I'm going to assume you will be going with a classic diamond, but what kind of band will you give her? Gold? White gold? Platinum?"

Leonard just looked at him in bemusement. "Um… Uh…"

Raj huffed again and sat back in his chair. "Do you even know her ring size?!"

Leonard looked at Howard in a desperate attempt for help, but he was offered none. "Um… Uh… No?"

"DUDE! How can you expect to get her a ring if you don't even know what size she is! Think about it, would you buy her a top if you didn't know her size? Or a pair of pants?!"

"Or underwear?" Howard added with a smirk.

Leonard frowned in Howards direction and then shook his head. "I never even thought about it. How do I find out her ring size?"

"Well, why don't you do what I did with Bernie? Take one of her rings to the jewellers with you, preferably one she wears on her fourth finger, and they will make sure you get a ring the same size as that one. You just gotta do it without her knowing." Howard said.

Leonard sighed and nodded. All of those horrible sick feelings of worry and nervousness that he had felt before talking to Wyatt began to return, sending his stomach into knots. Sneaking around Penny's belongings and inevitably lying to her about what he was doing was something that he really hated to do. He was horrible under pressure and he knew that if Penny put the pressure on him to tell her what he was up to, he would either come up with some ridiculous excuse that would be completely unbelievable or just blurt out everything that he was planning. "Fine, I'll try and find a ring." He said, sounding defeated.

"Do you want us to help?" Raj asked.

"No chance. After the last time, there is no way I'm letting you snoop around our room again!"

"Aww." Howard and Raj said in unison.

XXXXXXX

"Alright guys, got it!" Leonard excitedly said the next day as he sat down in the cafeteria beside Howard and Raj, proudly showing off one of Pennys rings that he had managed to sneak out of her jewellery box the night before. It had been easier than he had expected, Penny had to work in the evening so he waited until then to go in and have a snoop around. He knew where she kept her jewellery so finding it wasn't a problem, the only thing he wasn't sure about was which ring to take, but to him they all seemed roughly the same size so he figured it didn't really matter that much.

"Got what?" Howard asked.

Leonard looked at Howard as if he should already know what he was talking about. "A ring."

"You got her a ring already!" Raj moaned. "I thought we were going to that together!"

"What? No I mean a ring to use to get her size! God you two have the attention span of a child!" Leonard said with a chuckle. "Thing is I'm not sure what finger she wears this on, but they must all be pretty much the same size right?"

"Yeah, pretty much, as long as she doesn't wear it on her thumb!" Howard said as he took the ring from Leonards hand. "Holy crap, she has big fingers!" Leonard frowned at Howard as he began to put the ring on his own finger, "They are bigger than mine!" Howard giggled as Leonard took the ring back off of him.

"Yeah, they are bigger than mine too." Leonard said with a grin. "Okay, so I was thinking we could go today after work and look for a ring if you two aren't doing anything?"

"Oh my God, Yes! I say we just blow off the rest of the work day and go now!" Raj said, so enthusiastically it actually shocked both Leonard and Howard. "What? I'm excited okay!"

Leonard smiled and looked toward Howard. "What about you Howard? You wanna come?"

"Yeah, why not!"

And with that the guys grabbed their stuff and headed into town. Raj showed them to all of the best jewellers and they spent ages looking at all different kinds of rings but Leonard struggled to find something that he thought was good enough. There were plenty of choices, and plenty of beautiful rings, but none of them were what he was looking for. Although he wasn't even sure what he was looking for. All he had decided was that it wouldn't be gold. The ring would be either white gold or platinum because when he was looking through her jewellery, nothing in it was gold so he assumed she wasn't a fan of it.

They had been looking for close to an hour and both Leonard and Howard were becoming fed up of going from shop to shop without seeing anything Leonard liked. Raj on the other hand, was in his element, excitedly jumping from shop to shop, talking to the sales people in the store for ages about diamond cuts and carats, things that Leonard just didn't understand.

"You know, we are kind of like the three muskateers!" Raj said as they walked toward the next store on Rajs list. "On a mission to give Penny the perfect proposal!"

"The fantastic three!" Howard added and they all shared a laugh as Raj led them into the next store. Leonard was thankful at that point that he had asked his friends to help him. He was sure that if he had to do all this on his own he would have given up by now and went home. Luckily the two of them were there with him and despite the fact that Howard looked as worn out as Leonard felt, neither of them bitched and moaned, they just continued on to the next store, keeping their spirits up with stupid jokes and light-hearted conversations about comic books and movies.

"Hello there, how may I help you?" The dark haired sales woman behind the desk asked with a forced smile and a look in her eyes that suggested she was unsure as to what they were doing in the store. It was the same look they had gotten in every shop they had been in. Apparently jewellers don't often get three small nerdy guys in their store, and especially not ones specifically looking for an engagement ring.

"Hello madam," Raj began, taking the lead as he had done in all the other stores, while Leonard and Howard browsed the selection of rings inside the glass in front of them. "My friend here is looking for an engagement ring for his significant other." He said as he motioned towards Leonard, who had his face close to the glass, trying to get a good look at the rings on show.

"Oh great!" The woman said with more than a hint of surprise. "Well, my name is Lisa, how about I take out some of these rings and let you have a better look. Do you have any idea what kind of ring you are looking for?"

"Yes that would be great." Raj answered, "He wants either a white gold or platinum band, with a classic diamond stone."

Leonard continued to browse the store while Raj talked to Lisa as she brought out a selection of rings, when something caught his eye. He stopped and bent down to look through the glass and his heart began to race. He stared intently at the beautiful ring in front of him and it took his breath away. The sparkling round diamond, with a smaller stone on each side of it, and more scattered along the white gold band stared up at him, mesmerizing him much in the same way Penny did. It gave him a warm feeling inside of him, a feeling that no other ring he had saw that day had given him, he looked at it and he knew. He knew that that was the ring he was going to give Penny. He knew that was the ring he would hold onto as he got down on one knee and asked Penny to become his wife. This was the ring that he wanted Penny to wear on her finger for the rest of her life.

"Raj…" He eventually managed to say with a slight crack in his voice.

"Yeah?" Raj said as he turned around to face Leonard who was bent down near the ground, staring into the glass.

"This is it. This is the one." He said quietly.

Howard, Raj and Lisa headed over to where Leonard was looking. "Which one do you want me to take out, Sir?" Lisa asked, obviously excited that she was about to make a sale to someone she would have never expected it from.

Leonard gently pointed through the glass to dazzling ring that he still hadn't taken his eyes off of. Lisa smiled and took the ring out and held it in front of him as Leonard timidly took the ring from her. He could just about hear Raj and Howard say how beautiful the ring was as he looked at the stunning diamond.

"Wow." Leonard whispered. It was just about all he could say.

"It is beautiful isn't it?" Lisa said and the three men nodded.

"I'll take it." He said with a smile.

"What? Really?" Howard asked with a grin.

Leonard nodded, "It's perfect."

"Oh my God I can't believe we have found it!" Raj exclaimed, "I thought you were never going to choose one!"

Leonard grinned as Lisa took the ring from him. He handed her the ring he had brought with him so she could get one the same size, and she headed off into the back room. Leonards grin became wider as he thought about what he had just done. He had chosen the ring he was going to give to Penny, and his heart fluttered with excitement.

"Okay, here we go Mr…" Lisa said as she re-entered the store, with his ring and a small white box in hand.

"Hofstadter, but please call me Leonard."

"Alright, Leonard, _this_ is your ring." Lisa said as she opened the box to show Leonard. She smiled sweetly at him as he looked in awe at the ring, perched on a small cushion inside the white velvet box. "Shall I ring it up for you?"

"Yes, please." Leonard replied, trying to choke back tears.

"Wait, Leonard do you not want to know how much it is before you buy it?" Howard said before Lisa reached the till.

"It doesn't matter." He said quietly. "That ring is perfect. I'm not going to find another one like it. Penny will have that ring, even if it puts me in debt!" He said with a grin.

Lisa looked over questioningly at Leonard, wondering if she should proceed. Leonard nodded to her and she continued what she was doing. Leonard informed her he would be paying by credit card and handed it to her. The ring was indeed expensive, but Leonard had a good bit of money saved up, so it didn't put him in any sort of debt. Lisa handed him back his card, along with a small bag containing the ring and a receipt. "Hopefully you won't need this!" Lisa said with a smile as she put the receipt into the bag.

"Yeah, me too." Leonard chuckled. "Thank you." He took the bag from her and they turned to head out of the store.

"Good luck!" Lisa said as they headed out of the store.


	8. Chapter 8

Leonard sat in the middle seat in the back of the car with the little white box open in front of him. He could hear Raj and Howard in the front talking, but he wasn't listening to them. His mind was totally focused on the little white box that held inside it the symbol of his future. That tiny little box held everything he had wanted for the past seven years. _Penny Hofstadter. Penelope Hofstadter. Mrs Penelope Hofstadter. _Leonard smiled as those three names circled around his mind in a continuous loop, but he was being presumptuous again. He didn't know that Penny would take his name, for all he knew she could want to hyphen it or just keep her own surname. Hell, she might not even say yes, but that didn't stop his brain going into over-drive as it pictured Penny walking down the aisle in a beautiful white gown. It didn't stop him imagining their wedding day, their honeymoon, and their children. _The little Hofstadter's. _His heart fluttered and he shut the little box and put it back inside the bag. He had to stop getting ahead of himself again and wait until she at least agreed to marry him before he thought anymore about the wedding, and especially children. _One step at a time._

"So, when are you going to do it then?" Howard asked, turning around slightly in his seat so he could face Leonard.

Leonard sighed. "I don't know. I was thinking this weekend… Or maybe next weekend." He suddenly became very nervous as it hit him that there really was nothing left to do but propose. The ring was bought, permission had been given, all he had to do was book the restaurant and he was done. "Maybe the weekend after that." He said quietly.

"No dude, you can't wimp out now!" Raj said as he drove, sensing by Leonard's tone of voice that he was getting cold feet. "You should do it this weekend, get it over with."

"Raj is right, the longer you leave it the scarier it will get." Howard added. "Do you know where you want to take her?"

"Well, there's that new place that just opened by the beach. I was going to take her there because I know how much she loves being at the beach."

"Ohh that sounds great!" Raj said excitedly. "Book it now!"

"I can't. I have to talk to Penny first." Leonard said with a giggle. It really did amuse him how Raj got so excited about these kinds of things. "I don't know what nights she is working this week."

"Well, find out tonight and book it." Howard said. "It's just opened, so it will be pretty popular, you don't want to leave it too late and then not get a table."

"Stop pressuring me okay, I will do it when I do it!" Leonard snapped. Raj and Howard looked at each other in surprise and a few moments of awkward silence followed. "Sorry." He said with a sigh. He looked down as he nervously wrung his hands. "I just didn't expect this to come around so fast. It feels like I only just told you guys I was proposing. Now suddenly everything is done and all that's left is to ask her. She could pretty much either make or break my life with one word. It's pretty daunting."

"Look, this bit is scary. It's the biggest question you will ever ask, it's supposed to be scary, but you have to push past this. Don't let your nerves stop you. She loves you. Everything will be fine." Howard tried to sound as calm and re-assuring as possible. He knew how this part felt, and he knew how easy it was to decide to keep on putting it off.

Leonard nodded blankly. He knew Howard was right, he couldn't let his nerves stop him now after coming so far. He took a deep breath and then another, as the car pulled up outside of the University, putting the small bag into his pocket as he left the car.

"Thanks guys." Leonard said as he headed to walk over to his own car.

"No problem! Text us when you have booked the restaurant! So we know you have done it!" Raj yelled to him.

Leonard rolled his eyes and nodded. "I will."

* * *

Leonard entered his apartment building, just as Penny was walking up from the laundry room, with a big basket of freshly cleaned laundry in hand. "Hey, sweetie." She said as she walked towards him. Leonard quickly stuffed the tiny bag into his jacket pocket as she leaned in to give him a quick kiss. "Where did you go today?"

Leonard looked at her feeling suddenly panicked. "What do you mean?" He asked as they began their ascent up the stairs.

"Sheldon came knocking on our door earlier looking for you. He said you left work with Howard and Raj. The poor guy had no one to take him home! He had to take the bus. He was pretty pissed so I'd avoid him if I were you." She said with a grin. "So, where were you?"

Leonard's jaw dropped as soon as he heard the name Sheldon and felt instantly guilt ridden as he realized he had completely forgotten that they had left him at the University. His mind began to race as he tried to think of a reasonable explanation for where they had been that day and decided it was best to tell her the truth, just a very vague version of it. "We went shopping." As soon as he said the words, and saw Pennys confused and surprised expression, he regretted his earlier decision. He should have realized she wouldn't just accept he had went shopping, she would ask where they had been to and more importantly why.

"_You_? Went shopping?" She said with a raised eyebrow, stopping in her tracks in the middle of the staircase.

"Um… Yeah…" He began to walk up the stairs again, but Penny didn't budge.

"You, Howard and Raj, went shopping?" Leonard sighed at his failed attempt to end the conversation and nodded. "Why?"

"Because… Um…" Leonard suddenly felt a few drops of sweat begin to form on his forehead and he hoped with all hope that Penny didn't notice his agitation. "We were helping Howard… Buy some um… You know… Those things he wears." He said pointing to his neck as his panicked state took hold of his vocabulary.

"Turtlenecks?" Penny said screwing up her face. "He needed you and Raj to go with him to buy some turtlenecks?"

"He wanted our opinion." He said slowly, not even convincing himself that his lie could be true. She stared at him in confusion for a few more seconds, but eventually shrugged her shoulders and began to walk up the stairs again, much to Leonards relief. She either thought that it was just weird enough to be true, or her complete trust in him told her he wouldn't lie to her about something so silly, either way she had believed his crappy lie. "So, I was wondering, what nights are you working this week?" Leonard said, desperate to get the conversation off of his shopping trip.

"Um… tonight… tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking of taking you out this week, for dinner."

"Really?" She said tilting her head as they turned the corner and began to walk up the third flight of stairs. "Why?"

"Can you stop asking why?" Leonard said with a giggle. "Because, you are my girlfriend and I want to take you out." He grinned.

"Aw well aren't you sweet!" Penny laughed. "Sounds great, what night?"

"Um… Sunday?"

"Awesome! It's a date!" Penny giggled as they reached their floor. Leonard opened the apartment door to let Penny inside, and as soon as she headed to the bedroom to put away the laundry, he pulled out his phone.

"I've done it guys, Sunday is the big day!" He texted both the guys and Raj responded immediately with, "OMG! Can't wait!" And Howard a little later with, "No turning back now! Better prepare your speech!" Leonard smiled as he gripped the little box in his pocket. _No turning back now._


	9. Chapter 9

The days leading up to Sunday were Hell. Leonard was constantly on edge, scared that Penny might find the little box that he had hid in his drawer. He worried about every detail; what he would say, at what point during the night he would ask, he even worried about what he would wear. He was so distracted, so on edge and so nervous the whole week that he was certain Penny knew something was up. She would give him funny looks every now and then and ask him if he was okay, to which he quickly replied yes and tried to act as normal as possible, luckily for him Penny didn't push him too far to tell her what was wrong. He loved her for that.

The speech was what got him most worried though. He had no idea how he was going to explain how he felt about her and how badly he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He ended up deciding, late on Saturday night, that he couldn't possibly rehearse that part of the evening. He decided, after spending most of the past few days searching his brain for the perfect words, that he would wait until the perfect moment and just say what came naturally. He wished he had thought of it earlier.

And now, Sunday was here. The day he had been building up to over the past few weeks had finally arrived and he was full of mixed emotions. As nervous and panicked as he was, he couldn't deny the sudden feeling of relief that swept over his body. The day was finally here, no more waiting and wondering, by tonight he would finally know if all this work had been worth it. He would finally know if Penny was going to be his wife or not and knowing that made him feel just that little bit better.

With that in mind, Leonard got himself dressed up in his suit and tie. He stayed calm and tried to act as normal as he possibly could, telling himself this was just like any other date they had been on, but that little box in his jacket pocket screamed, "No it's not!"

The minutes crept by as he waited on Penny to get ready. His nerves slowly inching their way into his body with each moment that passed. All sorts of visions flew by in his mind, and none of them good ones, each one had the exact same conclusion, Penny saying no. He tried to stop the thoughts. He tried to stop his overactive mind from making assumptions on what would happen that night, especially bad ones, but they wouldn't stop. His stomach became knotted and his heart pounded against his chest, forcing him to take a breath from his inhaler. He wondered how on earth he was going to act normal that night, how he was going to have dinner when the thought of eating made him sick. How was he going to hold a conversation with her when he could barely take his mind off of the life changing question he was going to ask? His phone buzzed in his pocket, he knew exactly who it was before he even looked. It was Raj, informing him that the whole gang had gathered next door and they were to come in and see them before they left. At that moment he regretted ever telling them when he was going to propose, wishing that he could turn back time so he could keep that part a secret. But it was done now and there were two little guys sitting across the hall eagerly awaiting the events of the evening and probably just as nervous about it as he was.

Leonard sat on the couch, rested his head on the back of it, closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths in and out, hoping to clear his mind and calm his body. He wasn't sure how long he stayed in that position, but some time later Penny entered the room.

Leonard was brought back from his almost meditative state by Pennys voice. "Alright I'm ready! How do I look?"

He immediately sat up and turned around. Words escaped him and a smile lit up his face when he saw her, looking radiant in a gorgeous purple dress that hugged her body, with her long wavy blonde hair hanging down, framing her face. She was the vision of beauty, and she made his heart race once more, undoing all of his work to calm it.

"That good huh?" Penny said with a giggle after Leonard hadn't spoken for more than a few seconds. He simply nodded in reply as he got up off the sofa and went over to give her a kiss. Sometimes he found it extremely hard to believe that he had managed to find himself a woman as beautiful as her. She had her flaws and he knew it, but sometimes, on nights like this when she would walk out of that room looking as gorgeous as she did now, he found it incredibly hard to remember what those flaws were. In these moments, she was nothing other than perfect.

Eventually and reluctantly, he pulled away from her. "You look beautiful." He said as he gazed into her eyes, knowing that it probably won't be the last time he utters those words to her that night.

Penny grinned and stepped back, "You don't look half bad yourself!" She said as she patted his chest and dusted off his shoulders. "Very handsome… Let me fix this though." She giggled as she undone his messed up tie and re-tied it for him. He watched her intently as she focused on his tie and had to fight every urge in his body to ask her to marry him at that moment.

"Alright then, let's go." He said as soon as she was finished.

"Already? I thought our cab was booked for 8? Its only half 7."

"Oh… yeah. Well do you want to go next door? Maybe have a drink with the guys before we go. I'm pretty sure everyone's over there now."

"Yeah sure!" Penny said happily as she grabbed her purse. Leonard found his wallet, his keys and his phone, before quickly checking his jacket pocket to make sure the special gift was still there. Satisfied that he had everything he needed, he locked up and followed Penny across the hall. She knocked and then quickly entered the apartment, not bothering to wait on permission.

She greeted the group as she always did, with a cheery, "Hey guys!" as she made her way to sit on the arm of the couch. Her words were met with the usual, "Hey" from most of the people there, but also by the sound of what could only be described as a screech of excitement from both Howard and Raj. Upon hearing the unusual sound, most of the gang looked at them in confusion, except from Leonard, who gave them both his best, "I'm gonna kill you" look.

"What the hell was that?" Penny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, I don't know… Nothing." Raj said nervously. "You look pretty." He smiled, hoping all weirdness would be forgotten with a simple compliment.

"Aw, thank you." Penny replied with a smile.

Leonard shook his head and headed to the kitchen to pour him and Penny a drink. Thankfully Penny never asked any more questions about the guys' weird outburst and began to chat happily to Bernadette and Amy who were sitting on the sofa, beside Sheldon who was watching television and had barely even noticed the arrival of his friends. Howard and Raj came over to the kitchen to talk to Leonard, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

"Oh my God dude, I can't believe you are doing this tonight!" Raj whispered. "I have been so nervous for you, I haven't stopped peeing all day!"

Leonard smiled and downed the first glass of wine he had poured for himself.

"Wow, slow down. You don't wanna get drunk and mess this up!" Howard said quietly.

"I know I'm just so nervous." Leonard whispered. "How on earth did you manage this! I feel like I'm going to get sick every time I think about it."

"Then don't think about it." Raj said. "At least not until you actually do it. Just pretend it's a normal date."

"If only it was that easy." Leonard replied as he sipped on the second glass of wine he had poured.

"So, do you have everything? You know like…" Howard held up his left hand to his chest and discreetly wiggled his fourth finger. Leonard nodded and patted his jacket pocket. Howard smiled and said. "Good. And you have your inhaler?"

Leonard frowned and shook his head. His inhaler was something he never really took out with him when he went for dinner, although he was certain Penny always carried one for him in her purse, so it hadn't crossed his mind to bring one now.

"Dude you better go and get it. You're not exactly in for a nice, quiet, calm dinner date! You're probably gonna need it at some point tonight." Howard told him.

Leonard nodded his agreement and finished pouring the drinks then headed over to give one to Penny. She thanked him as she took the drink from him and once again Raj made the excited screeching noise, only a little quieter this time. Leonard turned around to glare at him, but almost laughed as he saw him looking at Penny, looking as if he was about to burst out crying with excitement. He eventually caught his eyes and once again tried to tell him to 'be cool' with one glare. Raj got the hint and immediately stopped looking at her and sat down.

"I'll be right back." Leonard said as he made his way out the door, not waiting for any sort of response. Penny just watched him go in confusion then turned back to her conversation with Bernadette and Amy.

Leonard returned back to the apartment within a few minutes, his inhaler in hand.

"Okay what is with you guys tonight?" Penny said sternly as she looked toward Howard and Raj. Leonard immediately put his head in his hands, once again wishing he hadn't told either of them about tonight. "You keep on giving me weird looks. It's freaking me out!"

"Just ignore them Penny." Bernadette said. "The two of them have been acting strange all night." She said glaring at Howard.

"Come on Penny, I think it's about time we left. It's almost 8." Leonard said. He had to get her out of that apartment before those two freaked her out even more, or even worse, gave her an idea of what he planned on doing.

"Have fun you guys!" Bernadette shouted, followed by Amy who said something much to the same affect.

Howard done his best to stay calm and wished them a good evening, Raj however couldn't quite do the same. He got up off of his seat and hugged Leonard, whispering "good luck" in his ear, before hugging Penny, and telling her to "have the best night ever." As soon as she pulled away from him he squealed again and waved them off down the stairs.

"How much has he had to drink tonight?!" Penny giggled as they walked down the stairs.

Leonard smiled and shook his head, relieved that Penny had found her own conclusion to his odd behaviour because it meant he wouldn't have to come up with one. Penny giggled again and took hold of his hand as they walked down the stairs, blissfully unaware of the nerves that were beginning to once again creep under Leonard's skin. _This is it_. They were leaving for the restaurant and from now on, it was just going to be the two of them. There was nowhere to hide, no more time to go over what he might say, or to close his eyes and calm his nerves. As they left the apartment building and stood on the street waiting for their cab to arrive, Leonard realized that when they came home he would either be completely heartbroken, or with the future Mrs Hofstadter on his arm.


	10. Chapter 10

Leonard and Penny walked, hand in hand, as they entered the restaurant. It was dimly lit, with candles on every table. Along one side there was a huge window that framed the beautiful beach outside, as the sun began to set on the ocean. The room was decorated in dark shades of orange and red that made the room feel cosy despite its large size.

"Oh my God, this place is beautiful." Penny whispered as they made their way up to the maître d's table.

"Hello, can I take your name please?" The young man asked.

"Hofstadter." Leonard said with a smile.

The man looked down his list and then looked up and smiled when he found the name. "Okay, Mr Hofstadter, my name is Eric." He said as he grabbed two menus from his stand. "Just follow me and I will show you to your table." Eric began to walk up the few stairs into the main dining area. "You asked for a seat with a view is that correct?" He said cheerily as he turned to face them.

"Yeah, if it's possible." Leonard replied.

"Of course!" Eric said with a grin. He guided them past a few tables, and showed them to a table right beside the huge window. "Gorgeous night tonight, you definitely picked the perfect night for the view! Here are your menus." He said as he placed them on the table while Leonard and Penny sat down. Leonard instantly liked Eric. He had a constant smile plastered on his face and was incredibly enthusiastic, camp even. He was impeccably made up, not a single piece of his thick brown hair that hung by his face, in a style not dissimilar to that of a certain teenage heartthrob, was out of place, as was his clothing. His shirt seemed to be crisply ironed and his tie was done perfectly. "Can I get you some drinks?" He said as he leaned all of his weight onto his left leg and pulled a pen and pad out of his pocket.

"Yeah, one bottle of white wine please." Leonard said.

Eric nodded as he wrote down Leonard's order. "And for you miss?" He said. Penny opened her mouth in confusion, and Eric giggled. "Just kidding!" He said with a wink, as he placed a hand to her shoulder. "I'll bring that right over to you." He said as he walked away, flicking his hair dramatically to the side as he turned.

"I think he likes you." Leonard said with a giggle, and then raised his eyebrow. "I'll have to keep an eye on him"

"I don't know if I'm really his type." Penny laughed and raised an eyebrow in the same way as Leonard had. "I think it's me that has to keep an eye on him." They both giggled and then began to settle down into their seats. "This view really is lovely." She said dreamily as she looked out the window.

Eric returned to the table with a bucket of ice that held the bottle of wine. "Okay darlings, here you are." He said as he placed the bucket in the middle of the table, then popped the cork and began to pour wine into their glasses. "Now, I will be your waiter tonight. I can't remember if I already told you, so I'll tell you again, my name is Eric." He finished pouring the wine and placed it back in the bucket. "I will leave you two for a few minutes to look through the menus, before I come back and take your orders." He smiled politely again and headed off.

Penny and Leonard smiled over at each other after he had left. "I think we should come here more often, that guy is awesome!" Penny giggled.

Leonard agreed and they began to look through their menus, chatting away about what was on offer and deciding between them what to get. A few minutes passed and they had decided, Eric came back to take their orders, in the same cheery fashion as he had before, and they sat happily in one anothers company while they waited on their food coming.

Their food came, delivered by the ever happy Eric. They chatted and laughed as they ate, holding one anothers gaze on occasion and holding hands. He told her once again how beautiful she was and she gave him a quick kiss. Leonard almost forgot amongst the good time they were having, about the reason he had brought her here in the first place. He contemplated doing it now, as they waited on their empty plates to be taken away and replaced with their desserts. His knee began to bounce and he started to twiddle his fingers as he tried to bring up the courage to pull the ring out of his jacket. He was interrupted however, by Eric, who bounced over to their table and began to take their plates away. "You know?" He said as he collected their plates, "I would never have put you two together." He smiled, to let them know he meant no offence and that he was just making an observation. "But you make an incredibly cute couple." He grinned as he held the plates in his hands, "I'll be right back with your desserts."

Penny and Leonard smiled at each other as he left, "We have to give him an extra nice tip tonight." Penny giggled.

Leonard nodded and began to twiddle with his finger's once again.

"What's up sweetie?" She said as she took a hold of his hands. "You have been pretty quiet tonight. Is everything ok?"

Leonard squeezed her hand and smiled as he gazed at her. _Do it now!_ His body screamed, but his mouth wouldn't let those words come out. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he didn't even have to look at it to know it was either Raj or Howard, probably getting impatient about their lack of news from him. "I'm fine." He said with a smile.

"Promise?" She asked with concern. Leonard nodded and she smiled before turning her head to look out of the window. The sun had set and the moon and stars were now shining against the sea.

Leonard noticed the look of wonderment on her face; she really did love the beach. "You wanna go for a walk on the beach after dessert?" He asked.

Penny took her focus off of the view and turned to him with a smile, their hands still clasped tightly together. "Really? But you hate walking on the beach. You always moan about how the sand gets into your shoes and sticks between your toes." She said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I know." He smiled and rubbed her hand with his thumb, "but you love walking on the beach." He leaned across the table so he was almost half way between them, "and I love you." He whispered.

Penny beamed as she took her hand away from his and held his cheek. "You're so sweet. I love you too." She closed the gap between them and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. The sound of a man clearing his throat could be heard and they both turned to see Eric, standing with a grin on his face and two plates in hand. Penny and Leonard parted, allowing their food to be sat on the table and wasted no time in digging in to their food.

Leonard managed to relax again as he decided he wouldn't ask her here. He had never been a big fan of making big declarations of love in public, and the way his nerves were, there was probably no way he would be able to do it the way he wanted to with so many eyes staring at him. He struck gold when he realized what a clear, beautiful night it was and how perfect it would be to ask her, when they were alone, as they walked across the seafront.

Not long after they had finished their desserts, Eric came over once again to take away their plates and give them the bill. They chatted for a while and they both told him how they had enjoyed being served by him. Leonard paid the bill and slipped Eric a healthy tip as he shook his hand good-bye, something he had learned from the television, but the first time he had actually executed it properly.

They exited the restaurant and headed straight down to the beach. It was a fairly chilly night and Leonard could see the little goose bumps appearing on Pennys skin. He immediately offered up his jacket, putting it around her before she even had the chance to answer, and they continued to walk along the beach.

"What do you have in here?" Penny asked as she went to put her hand up to the chest pocket of his jacket. Leonard frowned for a second, not really knowing what she was talking about, until it hit him that the ring was in there. He panicked and took a hold of her hand gently, so she didn't put it in the pocket.

"My inhaler." He said quickly.

Penny hesitated for a moment before accepting what he had said.

"Let's sit down." Leonard said after a few more minutes of walking.

"Fed up of walking already?" Penny giggled.

Leonard giggled in return, "No of course not!" He said as he sat down on the sand. "Now come here." He reached out his hand and Penny took a hold of it as she sat down in between his legs, with her back against his chest. Leonard put his arms around her and rested his head against hers as they sat in silence looking up at the stars.

"This has been a really great night Leonard, thank you." Penny said, turning her head slightly so she could look at him.

Leonard grinned at her but inside he began to freak out a little. The night was almost over and he still hadn't done what he came here to do. Penny kissed him amidst his panic and he calmed immediately, the soft touch of her lips erasing all thought from his head.

When Penny broke away from him, she held his gaze for a few moments. "Penny, can you pass me my inhaler?" He said, trying to sound as calm as he could.

Penny looked at him with concern. "Are you ok?"

Leonard nodded, "Can you get me it please?"

Penny nodded and put her hand into his pocket. Leonard sat his chin on her shoulder and quietly said, "Other pocket." Penny immediately changed sides and Leonards heart began to beat furiously as he waited on her to find what he knew to be in there.

"What's this?" Penny said as she grabbed onto the small box. She pulled the box out and Leonard smiled as he watched her face crinkle up in confusion. Slowly, some sort of realization spread across her face and she turned to look at him. "Leonard?" She said quietly.

"Open it."

Penny returned her focus to the little white box and Leonard saw her hands begin to shake a little. He wondered what she was thinking, if she was excited or terrified about what would be in there. Cautiously she opened the box, gasping when she saw the beautiful diamond staring up at her. "Penny, will you marry me?"


	11. Chapter 11

Penny turned her whole body around so she was sitting directly in front of him as she clutched the little box. Leonard examined her expression, trying to figure out if there was going to be a good or bad ending to this night, but all he saw on her face was shock.

"Leonard… I…" She spoke quietly as she stuttered. "You mean it?"

Leonard heard the crack in her voice and noticed a few tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. He took this as a good sign and smiled as he took a hold of her hand. "Of course I mean it, Penny. I love you. I want to spend my life with you." He pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles softly. "Penny, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't believe how lucky I am to have found you and I don't ever plan on letting you go." He lifted his hand and used it to stroke her hair then tuck it behind her ear. "You are so beautiful, so sweet, kind and funny. You have made me into a much better man than I ever was before, simply by being in my life." He noticed a single tear drop from her eye and he immediately wiped it away with his thumb. He grinned when he saw that Penny was no longer in shock, she was no longer confused as a smile slowly appeared on her face. "I can't imagine ever being with anyone else. I can't think of anyone in this world I would rather have as my wife than you. So…" He took the ring from Pennys hand and stood her up. "Let me do this properly," He said and Penny giggled as she stood in front of him, wiping away the few more tears that were falling. Leonard got down on one knee and held the open box out in front of him, "Penny, will you marry me?"

Penny grinned as she looked into his eyes and stroked his cheek with one hand. "Yes." She knelt down beside him as she put her other hand to his face and pulled him in for a kiss. "Yes, I will marry you." She said when she pulled away from him.

Leonard smiled at her happy, teary eyed face and couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest and do somersaults along the beach, and he would quite happily do the same if he had even the slightest idea how to do it. He eventually managed to pull his eyes away from her and take the little ring out of its box and place it where it was destined to be. He took a hold of her hand and slid the ring on her finger, noticing how shaky his hands were as he done it. Penny must have noticed it too because she held his hand tightly with both of hers and kissed it, before kissing him again.

Their kiss was met with a certain amount of wooping and clapping from the few people around the beach who had been watching their exchange, unbeknownst to them. They both pulled away from each other and giggled when they looked around and noticed the people dotted around the beach. The sound of someone whistling caught their attention and they looked in the direction of the noise, their eyes meeting the sight of Eric jumping up and down in the distance, excitedly and waving his hands in front of his face to dry his own tears. They then realized that they were stood in perfect view of the restaurant that they were just eating at, and a few people were gathered around the big window watching them.

"Did you know they were there?" Leonard said, turning back around to face Penny.

Penny smiled and shook her head, before holding his face again and pulling his mouth on to hers. They stayed in their embrace for a few minutes, neither one of them wanting to let the moment go. It was interrupted however, by the sound of Leonards phone buzzing in his pocket again. Penny looked at him in confusion for a second, wondering why he wasn't checking his phone. "That can wait." He said with a smile, knowing full well that it was Raj texting him and not feeling the need to check it.

"I love you Leonard." Penny said as she touched her forehead with his and placed their noses together.

"I love you too."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm going to be a Mrs Hofstadter." Penny giggled as she held her hand out in front of her, gazing at it as she and Leonard began to climb the stairs to their apartment. She still had Leonards jacket on, with the sleeves pulled up a little so it didn't cover her ring.

"I can't believe you _agreed _to become a Mrs Hofstadter!" Leonard replied.

"Did you really think I'd say no?"

"Well, it's not like you haven't said no before." Leonard said.

"Yeah but, that was different." She said becoming quite defensive.

Leonard laughed and held her hand. "Relax, I know." He said kissing her hand. "You know… you will be the _only_ Mrs Hofstadter." He said as they turned the corner to head up the second flight of stairs.

Penny was immediately confused. "What about your mom, and your sister?"

"They are both doctors. As is my brother's wife. Oh… wait, I don't think my grandmother was… Okay let me rephrase, you will be the only _live_ Mrs Hofstadter." He said with a grin.

"You know, funnily enough, that doesn't exactly make me feel great!" She joked. "I'm going to be the _only _woman in your family that isn't a doctor!"

"Yeah, but that's a good thing. We gotta break the trend." Leonard giggled. "You really didn't know I was going to ask?"

"Not really." She said shaking her head slightly. "I knew something was up. I knew there was no way you went shopping for clothes with Howard and Raj, but I thought you were just buying me jewellery or something, didn't cross my mind you were buying this!" Penny smiled as she held up her hand and then averted her gaze back to the diamond on her finger. "It really is beautiful you know? Well done." She said with a smile.

"I'm glad you like it," He said as they began to walk up the last few steps to their hallway. "And I'm glad it fits." He giggled.

Penny smiled at him then bit her lip as she led him towards their apartment, Leonard smiled back and was about to go in for a kiss when his phone buzzed in his pocket again. He groaned loudly in anger and frustration. "What's wrong?" Penny asked.

"We can't go in there yet." He said sadly. Penny looked at him, completely puzzled. "There are two little nerds in there," He nodded his head towards 4A, "that are dying to know what happened tonight, and if we don't go in there and tell them, my phone is going to continue to buzz for the rest of the night." He said as he held up his phone, revealing three unread texts, all from Raj.

"They knew?!" Penny said, surprised. Leonard nodded. She stood there with her mouth agape for a few seconds before closing it and thinking hard to herself. "Was that why they were acting so weird today?" He nodded again. "And they really did go with you that day? When you got this?" Leonard chuckled and nodded again. Penny crossed her arms and shook her head. "You sneaky little bastards!"

Leonard giggled and took a hold of her hand. "Come on, let's get this over with quickly so we can consummate this thing!"

Penny laughed as she followed Leonard, "Okay, but don't say anything at first, just act normal. I wanna mess with those little nerds." Leonard chuckled and nodded as Penny pulled the sleeves of Leonards jacket down so the diamond on her finger was no longer visible.

"Hey guys." She said as cool as possible when she entered the apartment. As usual her greeting was met by ones of the same fashion from the people in the room, except from Howard and Raj who were looking at her and then Leonard expectantly.

"How was your dinner?" Bernadette asked.

"Oh, it was alright." Penny answered as she sat down on the arm of the sofa. Leonard made his way to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and keep his attention away from the stares of Howard and Raj.

"Just alright?" Howard asked and Penny nodded.

"Nothing exciting happen?" Raj said as a smile appeared on his face.

Penny pretended to think hard and replied with "Nope. We had a pretty interesting waiter called Eric, he was pretty cool."

"That's it?!" Howard and Raj said together. Bernadette and Amy looked at the guys in complete confusion as Leonard tried his hardest to stop himself from laughing.

"Hey, where's Sheldon?" Leonard asked as he realized his spot was empty.

"He's in bed." Howard said quickly, and then glared at him, as did Raj. "So _nothing _noteworthy happened tonight?"

"Nothing at all?" Raj added.

Leonard giggled, "Penny, just tell them before they explode."

"Alright then." She said as she pulled up her sleeve. "We got engaged!" Leonard watched her as she stood up excitedly waving her left hand in the air, finding it funny at how girly she became as the girls surrounded her.

"Oh my God! I am so surprised!" Raj said, trying his best to sound surprised.

Penny scoffed and glared at him, "I know you knew." She stated and he opened in mouth in fake shock. "And you too, Howard." She said as she turned to give him the same look Raj had gotten.

"You knew!" Bernadette said in shock. "And you didn't tell me!"

"He told me not too!" Howard protested, pointing a finger towards Leonard.

"He's right I did." Leonard said as he walked back over to his friends.

Everyone turned their attention back to the happy couple, asking questions about the night. The girls fussed over Penny, admiring her ring and telling her how beautiful it was, making Leonard feel extremely proud of himself for picking one everyone loved and eventually the subject of the wedding came up.

"Oooh, oooh, I have to be the wedding planner!" Raj exclaimed.

Penny and Leonard looked at each other in panic, before Penny said "Um… yeah, let us get back to you on that one!"


End file.
